ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bird Registration Scheme

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to publish the results of her Department's review of its Bird Registration Scheme.

Elliot Morley: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Welsh Assembly have completed the public consultation on the bird registration scheme.
	The consultation provoked over 400 responses from individuals; groups and organisations known to have an interest in schedule 4 and other birds; central and local government organisations; police forces and other enforcement agencies. A summary is being made available on the Department's website.
	Having analysed the responses, Defra and the Welsh Assembly have decided to:
	retain the Bird Registration Scheme; but to
	remove the requirement to re-register birds every three years
	treat birds already identifiable with an approved CITES mark as having sufficient marking for registration purposes under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
	invite their statutory advisers, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, to review the statutory criteria for listing birds under schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
	We will now be working to draft the legislation needed to bring these changes into force. The law is unlikely to change before September 2003.

Combustion Plants

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the costs to industry of the adoption of (a) emission limit values and (b) a national emission reduction plan under the revised Large Combustion Plants Directive;
	(2)  whether (a) a power station and (b) generating unit are treated as combustion plants under the revised Large Combustion Plants Directive;
	(3)  whether emission trading will be possible under a national emission reduction plan within the revised Large Combustion Plants Directive.

Alun Michael: The Government are currently considering the implementation of the revised Large Combustion Plant Directive (2001/80/EC), in particular, the costs and benefits of the options.
	Article 2(7) of the revised Directive defines a combustion plant as "any technical apparatus in which fuels are oxidised in order to use the heat thus generated". It provides for certain qualifications and exceptions to this definition (eg exclusion of gas turbines licensed before 27 November 2002) which do not constitute combustion plants for the purposes of the Directive.
	Article 1 of the revised Directive provides that it only applies to combustion plants (as defined in Article 2), "the rated thermal input of which is equal to or greater than 50MW, irrespective of the type of fuel used (solid, liquid or gaseous)".
	Accordingly, if a power station or generating unit falls within the provisions of Articles 1 and 2 of the Directive and does not benefit from any of the exclusions set out in Article 2(7), it will constitute a combustion plant for the purposes of the revised Directive.
	Article 4(6) of the revised Directive, which deals with the implementation of the Directive via a "national emission reduction plan" specifies the requirements that those plans must include, which among others comprise "objectives and related targets, measures and timetables for reaching those objectives and targets, and a monitoring mechanism" (Article 4(6) (a)). This Article further provides that "the national emission plan shall reduce the total annual emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (S02) and dust from existing plants to the levels that would have been achieved by applying the emission limit values referred to in paragraph 3 to the existing plants in operation in the year 2000".
	There is nothing in the revised Directive to prohibit emissions trading in the context of a national emission reduction plan, though any emissions trading would have to comply with all other requirements of Community law, including rules of competition and state aids.

Countryside Access

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to publish regulations relating to the exclusion and restriction of access under Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Alun Michael: Regulations on exclusions and restrictions of access are currently being finalised and I expect to be in a position to lay them by the end of May 2003.

Websites

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the (a) cost of and (b) number of visitors to each website operated by her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible in each year since its establishment.

Alun Michael: The cost of and number of visitors to the main Defra website (www.defra.gov.uk) for each financial year since the formation of the Department in June 2001 are as follows.
	
		
			 Year Cost (£) Number of visitors 
		
		
			 2001–02(1) 525,000 1,607,966 
			 2002–03(2) 623,000 1,418,515 
		
	
	(1) From June 2001.
	(2) To end February 2003.
	The Sustainable Development web site www. sustainable-development.gov.uk has running costs of approximately £20–25,000 per annum in the period since June 2001, including start-up costs for subsidiary sites. Numbers of visitors are not readily available for the full period since June 2001 but currently average approximately 12,000 visitors per month.
	A number of other smaller websites are operated by the Department, for which costs are incorporated within the budgets for specific programmes and not separately identified. Corresponding information is not held centrally for other websites managed by the Department's agencies and non-Departmental public bodies, and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

European Working Groups

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress with achieving transparency in respect of the European working groups for which the Department is responsible.

Elliot Morley: The Government have long been committed to greater openness in the EU Institutions. This was a key theme of the UK Presidencies in 1992 and 1998. Making it easier to gain access to non-sensitive documents is crucial to this. The Government welcomed Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. As a result, more documents are released to the public, while genuinely sensitive documents are given the protection they need.
	Accountability and transparency of Council business to Parliament are ensured by the scrutiny process, to which the Government are also firmly committed.
	We strongly supported the measures agreed at the Seville European Council to make the Council more open when in legislating mode. We remain committed to increasing transparency. The Future of Europe Convention is also looking at ways to make the EU more open.

Farm Subsidies

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to channel production-linked farm subsidies into rural development schemes.

Elliot Morley: Government have redirected, and match funded, a proportion of production linked subsidy payments into rural development measures since 2001. In the current negotiations on CAP reform we are pressing for both a shift in support from production-linked subsidies to environmental and rural development measures and a significant increase in the UK's share of current EU funding for rural development programmes. We are committed to increasing expenditure on the England Rural Development Programme. The detailed arrangements for delivering this commitment will depend on the outcome of the on-going negotiations on the reform of the CAP.

Fur Farming

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 1 April 2003, Official Report, column 644W, on fur farming, whether the compensation scheme for fur farmers is in conformity with the Human Rights Act 1998.

Elliot Morley: On Thursday 13 March 2003 the High Court gave judgment quashing the Fur Farming (Compensation Scheme) (England) Order 2002. The Government's view is that the compensation scheme conforms with Human Rights legislation. An application has been made to appeal.

Over-30-months Scheme

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the value for money of (a) direct incineration and (b) rendering followed by incineration of carcases under the Over-30-Month Scheme.

Alun Michael: The cost of rendering and subsequent incineration of rendered products is less expensive than that of the direct incineration of cattle carcases. However, there are some benefits to the direct incineration of carcases in terms of quicker re-imbursement of compensation sums to the Exchequer from the EU. Both methods of disposal are used under the Over-30-Month Scheme and each represent good value for money.

Tallow

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to whom tallow was sold by her Department and its non-departmental public bodies in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003; and for what purposes it was sold.

Alun Michael: In 2002 and 2003, the following companies were contracted to incinerate OTMS tallow:
	Pointons;
	Prosper De Mulder (PDM);
	JG Pears;
	Lisburn Proteins;
	Canterbury Mills;
	William Forrest;
	Dundas Chemicals; and
	Ulster farm by products.
	All tallow sold is used as a source of energy recovery in that it is used to power the rendering plants.

Water Resources (Cambridge Area)

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the adequacy of water resources to sustain the proposed expansion in the number of homes to be built in Cambridge and its environs in (a) the next 10 years and (b) from 2014 and 2024.

Elliot Morley: Along with the other water supply companies, Cambridge Water and Anglian Water Services produce water resources plans, which look forward 25 years. These plans are updated annually by the companies, and are reviewed by the Environment Agency for consistency with its national and regional water resources strategies. The proposed housing expansion in and around Cambridge will be factored into this process.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Children's Clubs

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the vetting procedure required for staff employed by British firms operating children's holiday clubs abroad;
	(2)  what measures are required by British holiday companies to ensure staff employed to look after children in (a) hotel clubs and (b) holiday camps are properly qualified.

Melanie Johnson: Regulation 15 of The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tour Regulations 1992 states that all Tour Operators are held liable for their customer's safety, this would include children using holiday camps and clubs.
	The Federation of Tour Operators, who represent 90 per cent. of Tour Operators, recommend in their code of practice that all members should make sure that their children's clubs are supervised at all times by staff who are qualified in child care.

Advertising

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much her Department spent on advertising in each of the last five financial years; what the most expensive campaign was in each of these years; and how much these campaigns cost.

Patricia Hewitt: The information requested is as follows:
	
		£
		
			 FinancialYear Advertising expenditure(via COI) Most expensive campaign Amount  
		
		
			  
			  
			 1998–99 13,760,086 Action 2000 (all campaigns) 8,207,738 
			 1999–2000 13,341,889 Action 2000 (all campaigns) 11,619,875 
			 2000–01 12,686,309 National Minimum Wage 3,505,047 
			 2001–02 7,128,875 UK Online for Business 2,509,823 
			 2002–03 (3)12,284,379 SBS business link (3)6,014,079 
		
	
	(3) Provisional

Trade (Agricultural Products)

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government will support efforts to ensure that poor countries can protect agricultural products that are important in terms of (a) food security and (b) rural livelihoods; and what plans the Government have to (i) press for reductions in tariffs for these products and (ii) set limits on the numbers of products that can be protected.

Patricia Hewitt: As part of the current WTO negotiations on agriculture, the Chair of the WTO agriculture negotiations committee, Stuart Harbinson, produced draft agriculture modalities, which included two key proposals aimed at promoting and protecting developing countries' food security and rural livelihoods:
	1. developing countries should be allowed to designate a certain number of agricultural products as 'special products' and only minimum tariff reductions would be required on these; and
	2. a new special safeguard should be introduced to enable developing countries to protect developing country producers against import surges.
	The UK Government and the Commission, who negotiate in the WTO on behalf of all EU member states, fully support both these proposals. There will be further technical work on these proposals over the next few months focusing on the detail. The UK Government will contribute fully to that process.

Export Controls

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will extend the provisions in her Department's Consultation Document on Draft Orders to be made under the Export Control Act 2002 so as to apply the new provision on technical assistance to UK nationals knowingly or unknowingly supplying information on weapons of mass destruction.

Nigel Griffiths: The scope of the control on the provision of technical assistance in relation to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was drawn up after consultation on the draft Export Control Bill which sought views on the Bill and on the Government's proposals for the content of the secondary legislation. The scope of this control is in line with both the new WMD controls on the transfer by any means of technology and with the WMD provisions contained in the EC Dual-Use Regulation. The EC Dual-Use Regulation requires member states to control the physical export and electronic transfer of dual-use goods or technology which the exporter or transferor knows, or has been informed, is or may be intended use in connection with WMD.
	The new control on the provision of technical assistance applies to anyone in the UK or any UK person anywhere.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 27 February 2003 regarding a constituent.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 4 April 2003
	I replied to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North on the 5 April 2003.

E-Envoy

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the meetings Ministers in her Department have had with the e-Envoy since his appointment.

Patricia Hewitt: Since the e-Envoy's appointment in January 2001 DTI Ministers have met him on the following occasions:
	Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
	5 July 2001
	16 July 2001
	3 December 2001
	4 December 2001
	13 February 2002
	11 June 2002
	4 September 2002
	19 November 2002
	10 March 2003
	Minister for e-Commerce and competitiveness
	23 January 2001
	12 February 2001
	22 March 2001
	5 April 2001
	23 April 2001
	2 May 2001
	14 June 2001
	28 June 2001
	12 July 2001
	11 September 2001
	11 October 2001
	16 October 2001
	23 October 2001
	13 November 2001
	3 December 2001
	13 February 2002
	6 June 2002
	14 November 2002
	12 February 2003
	31 March 2003
	Minister for Trade
	3 April 2003
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business
	11 July 2001

Energy

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement, in relation to her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible, on (a) the amount of energy consumed, (b) spending on (i) energy and (ii) energy efficiency measures, (c) the amount saved through energy efficiency measures and (d) energy policy in each of the last five years.

Patricia Hewitt: Details of energy consumed and spending on energy and energy efficiency measures are published in the annual Sustainable Development in Government (formerly Greening Government) report. For ease of reference, details relating to my Department and Executive Agencies for each of the last five years are reproduced in the table.
	
		
			 Period Energy consumed (KWh) Energyspend (£) Energy efficiency measures spend (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 51,557,126 2,312,915 30,000 
			 1998–99 51,509,804 1,847,819 30,000 
			 1999–2000 55,744,148 2,117,249 30,000 
			 2000–01 57,762,613 2,095,491 60,000 
			 2001–02 51,412,380 1,968,873 105,000 
		
	
	The data in columns two and three are aggregates for my Department and its Executive Agencies, the data in column four relates solely to my Department. Disaggregated data could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Definitive quantification of the amount of energy saved through energy efficiency measures is affected by a number of variables such as weather conditions, floor area and number and activities of building occupant, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	My Department's energy is managed within an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system, and energy policy is based on the environmental policy objectives of conserving natural resources and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

Energy

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the United Kingdom oil supply was refined within Wales in the last three years; and how much this represented per head of population.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 7 April 2003
	There are only two refineries in Wales and the required information is, therefore, regarded as commercially restricted. However, at the end of 2001, refinery processing capacity in Wales was about one-fifth of the total refinery processing capacity of the UK.

Energy

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the UK (a) electricity and (b) gas supply originated in Wales in the last three years.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 7 April 2003
	Electricity figures for Wales are not available before 2000. It is estimated that about 8 per cent. of the UK's electricity was generated in Wales in 2000 and the same proportion in 2001.
	For gas, no supplies originate in Wales, although one pipeline from the Liverpool Bay field comes ashore in Wales.

Engineering

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what representations she has received from the engineering profession on changes to the UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician;
	(2)  what criteria were used in deciding on the proposals for changes to the UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician;
	(3)  what recent discussions she has had with the Engineering Council on the changes in the UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician;
	(4)  how far the proposed UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician will be compatible with those in other EU countries;
	(5)  what assessment she has made of the extent to which the proposals for changes to the UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician meet the recommendations of the Deering Report.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not had any discussions on this matter nor received any representations.
	I understand that the Engineering Council (UK) is consulting extremely widely through major trade associations, training organisations and the engineering institutions about proposals to develop the standards applied in registration of profession engineers and Engineering Technicians in the UK. The intention is to make them more consistent with industry needs. However, no formal proposals yet exist.
	I know that the Engineering and Technology Board is also considering perceived shortages of Engineering Technicians in order to try and address possible threats to the future productivity of UK industry. The two organisations are working closely together on this and other issues.

Insurance Premiums

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effect of increased insurance premiums on the competitiveness of British businesses; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: In a recent 'omnibus' survey of SMEs for the Small business Service, 28 per cent. of the sample said insurance was an issue for them, although only 3 per cent. said it was the greatest obstacle they faced (competition/sales was most frequently cited as the greatest obstacle, by 24 per cent. of firms). Difficulties with insurance were reported by 19 per cent. of firms surveyed based in England, 22 per cent. in Scotland, 17 per cent. in Wales and 32 per cent. in Northern Ireland. The most common difficulty encountered was high premiums (82 per cent.) , followed by non-renewal of cover by an existing insurer (9 per cent.) and inability to obtain cover (5 per cent.). Problems with insurance were most common in the manufacturing (31 per cent. of firms surveyed) and construction (26 per cent.) sectors.
	The Government also announced on 12 December 2002 details of a review of the operation of the Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance system, one of the objectives which is to
	"Assess the scale and nature of the current difficulties being experienced in relation to ELCI, in particular the extent to which these difficulties are likely to be short-term only, repeated in the future or permanent."
	The review is due to report in spring 2003.

Iraq (Reconstruction)

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the system for awarding commercial contracts for reconstruction in post-conflict Iraq under interim arrangements before a representative Iraqi Government is in place.

Patricia Hewitt: The awarding of any commercial contracts for reconstruction in post-conflict Iraq will be made in order to assist the rehabilitation of essential infrastructure and related efforts until such time as a representative Iraqi authority is in place.

Langage Power Station Site

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with Wainstones Ltd. about the power station site at Langage, Plymouth; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: The Department has had no recent discussions with Wainstones Ltd.

Nuclear Decommissioning

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to engage stakeholders in plans to create the new Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Brian Wilson: My officials are actively engaging with interested stakeholders, in particular, through a rolling series of meetings at regional level. The first round of these meetings is focusing on explaining progress to date and identifying the issues which stakeholders wish to discuss. Subject to their views, the second round in the summer is expected to focus on how the NDA might work with stakeholders with a view to developing a draft stakeholder engagement framework which the NDA can build on once it is in place. This programme of regional events supplements existing arrangements for bilateral dialogue with stakeholders through the BNFL Stakeholder Dialogue, and regular meetings with the nuclear regulators, trade unions, BNFL and UKAEA staff, local authorities, environmental groups and the local liaison committees for individual sites.

Nuclear Decommissioning

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value is of the decommissioning and liabilities management fund held by British Energy; and what discussions she has had with British Energy on the release of the decommissioning and liabilities management funds British Energy invested in Sizewell B construction.

Brian Wilson: The value of the Nuclear Decommissioning Fund (NDF) is reported annually in British Energy's report and accounts. I understand from the company that none of the NDF has been spent on the construction of Sizewell B.

Nuclear Decommissioning

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2003, Official Report, column 628W, on radioactive waste, if she will list the places identified as possible disposal sites for intermediate level nuclear waste by Nirex in addition to Sellafield and Dounreay.

Brian Wilson: I cannot agree to this request.
	The Department does not hold, and has never held, Nirex's list of these locations.
	The reason given to the House on 10 June 1997 by the then Minister for Science, Industry and Energy, namely that revealing the location of potential sites could unnecessarily cause anxiety to people living nearby, in any case means that it would not be appropriate to disclose the list's contents.

Parental Leave

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of (a) the number of people in the United Kingdom labour movement and (b) the number of people in her Department who have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive.

Patricia Hewitt: (a) According to the Autumn 2001 Labour Force Survey there were 7.6 million people in employment who were trade union members. (b) The uptake of parental leave is not centrally recorded within the Department of Trade and Industry: it is agreed locally between staff and their managers.

Post Offices

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices and sub-post offices there are in each Suffolk constituency; and how many of them transact more than 40 per cent. of their work from paying benefits and pensions.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 9 January 2003, Official Report, column 299W.

Post Offices

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices and sub-post offices there were in Suffolk in each year since 1996.

Stephen Timms: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that historic data on the post office network are not held on a county basis, as the company does not require these data for operational reasons.

Coal Industry

Eric Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much coal fired generation capacity she estimates will be taken out of the system by (a) 2008 and (b) 2015.

Brian Wilson: The amount of coal fired generation capacity taken out of the system in future will depend on a range of factors, including energy prices and economic conditions generally, together with any impacts from environmental legislation.
	In the CH case contained within the most recent official energy projections, published in November 2000 as Energy Paper 68, it was projected that around 14GW of coal plant, including some with dual firing capacity, would close between 2000 and 2010, with little further change by 2015. Since the publication of EP68, coal's competitive position has improved somewhat, leading to relatively high generation from coal plants, in excess of the levels anticipated in Energy Paper 68. My officials are currently beginning the process of formally reviewing the projections and it is expected that the results will feed into other work, including preparations for carbon trading and the review of the UK Climate Change Programme, due in 2004.

Press Office

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are employed in her Department's press office; and how many were employed on 2 May 1997.

Patricia Hewitt: There are currently 26 staff employed in the DTI Press Office. On 2 May 1997 there were 24 staff employed.

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many individuals have been seconded to her Department from (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, in each case listing (i) from which organisation and (ii) dates of secondments, in each year since 1997–98.

Patricia Hewitt: From records held centrally in my Department, the information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many civil servants have been seconded from her Department to (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, broken down by (i) grade of civil servants seconded, (ii) location and (iii) dates of secondments, in each year since 1997–98.

Patricia Hewitt: From records held centrally in my Department, the information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Street Works

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to undertake a full regulatory impact assessment on UK broadband development of the effects of proposed Department of Transport street works legislation before it is introduced to Parliament.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government intend to legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to allow more effective management of activities in the street, including those carried out by utility companies, to ensure that the disruption these cause is kept to a minimum. A regulatory impact assessment on the impact of these measures on relevant parties, notably local government and utility companies, including the telecommunications sector, will, of course, be made available to Parliament to accompany such a Bill when introduced. Among other things, this will need to deal with any impact on the development of broadband.

Websites

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the (a) cost of and (b) number of visitors to each website operated by her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible in each year since its establishment.

Patricia Hewitt: pursuant to the answer, 10 April 2003, Official Report, c. 395W
	Following is the information from the Chief Executives of the Agencies. A table containing information on Companies House will be placed in the Library.
	Letter from Dr. J. W. Llewellyn to Mr. Yeo, dated 10 April 2003
	The Secretary for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question on the (a) cost of and (b) number of visitors to each website operated by her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible in each year since its establishment.
	(a) The costs (including salary costs) associated with the website operated by NWML are:
	2001–02: £28K
	2002–03: £44K
	(b) During a one year period November 2001 to October 2002, the total number of visitors to the NWML website was 147,460.
	Letter from Ms R. J. R. Anderson to Mr. Yeo, dated 10 April 2003
	I am attaching a table giving details of annual cost of the Radiocommunications Agency (RA) website, and the number of hits for each year.
	The RA website comprises the core website, which is managed in-house by RA staff, and also an Online Services section of the site, held on a separate server and managed by RA7s IT Partner, Radio Spectrum International (RSI). The online services section includes the Sitefinder mobile phone masts database and the Agency's e-licensing services.
	The figures on the attached table refer only to the core RA website. They simply reflect the service provider costs and do not include staff costs. It is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to include website costs for the Online Service of the site, as these costs are an integral part of the development of the Agency's ongoing e-business programme.
	
		RA website (www.radio.gov.uk) costs and hits statistics 1997 to 2003
		
			 Year Costs (not including RA staff costs) Number of hits 
		
		
			 1997 (August to December only) Information not available 117,203 
			 1998 Information not available 533,763 
			 1999 £10,000 (CCTA hosting charge) 905,831 
			 2000 £10,000 (CCTA hosting charge) 1,701,098 
			 2001 £6,000 (OGC hosting charge) 2,000,176 
			 2002 £11,394 (amount paid so far out of £26,000 2-year ISP contract with BT Group) 2,503,577 
		
	
	Letter from Kevin Woodrow to Mr. Yeo, dated 10 April 2003
	I am replying to this parliamentary question, tabled on 3 April 2003, about the cost of the Patent Office's website and the number of visitors to the site. The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Website access statistics 
			 Year Cost (£000)(4) Hits Visitors(5) Page Views 
		
		
			 1997 97 1,154,934 30,183 11,758 
			 1998 53 4,025,856 99,502 542,259 
			 1999 115 8,176,657 168,701 1,892,535 
			 2000 85 24,372,014 310,243 13,461,066 
			 2001 85 97,188,047 1,165,900 31,558,590 
			 2002 103 246,437,420 1,528,295 49,638,854 
		
	
	(4) Costs do not include development of web based applications.
	(5) Visitors are unique visitors per month, added together to give an annual total.
	Letter from Roger Heathcote to Mr. Yeo, dated 10 April 2003
	You tabled a Parliamentary Question on 3 April 2003 to Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, asking if she will make a statement on (a) the cost of and (b) the number of visitors to each website operated by her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible in each year since its establishment. I have been asked to reply in respect of the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS), which is an executive agency of the DTI, providing the administrative support for the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Great Britain.
	The ETS operates three web sites—one for the EAT, one for the Employment Tribunals and one for the agency itself.
	The Employment Appeal Tribunal website has been operational since July 1999. The site was initially developed and hosted by the CCTA, but transferred to Hyperlink Interactive from April 2002, following the withdrawal of the CCTA hosting service. The table below shows the annual cost of the site and the number of visitors.
	
		
			  Costs (£) Visits Ave/m 
		
		
			 1999–2000 11,000 * * 
			 2000–01 7,500 * * 
			 2001–02 24,000 * * (Transfer and migration costs) 
			 2002–03 6,500 72,677 6,056 
		
	
	* There are no visitor statistics available prior to the transfer in April 2002
	The Employment Tribunal and the ETS sites have been 'live' since September 2001 and visitor statistics are available from November 2001. The sites are not charged separately, so it is not possible to allocate costs to each site individually. The table below shows the annual cost of the sites and the number of visitors.
	
		
			 Year Costs (£) ETVisits Ave/m ETS Visits Ave/m 
		
		
			 2001–02 80,000 13,543 2,691 7,246 1,449 
			 2002–03 55,500 116,822 9,735 30,688 2,557 
		
	
	The web site usage statistics are compiled on a monthly basis and include the number of 'unique visitors' per month. The figures given are the number of unique visitors per month totalled for the year so someone who visits the site only once per month would count as 12 visitors. A monthly 'average' (Ave/m) is also provided.
	Letter from Desmond Flynn to Mr. Yeo, dated 10 April 2003
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to your question (2002/2047) asking or details of the cost of, and the number of visitors to The Insolvency Service's website since its establishment.
	Information in connection with The Insolvency Service's website is only available for the 2002–03 financial year, following a change of Web-host provider in January 2002.
	During 2002–03 The Service's website, at www.insolvency. gov.uk has received some 351,386 visits, of which there were 117,556 unique visitors. The total page views made by users during this period was 1,577,491 with an average user time of 6 minutes.
	The web-host provider charged The Insolvency Service £45,648 exclusive of VAT, for the web-service provided during this period. The website is designed and administered by Insolvency Service staff and other costs are therefore limited to staff training and various software packages.
	Letter from Claire Clancy to Mr. Yeo, dated 10 April 2003
	I am responding to your recent Parliamentary Question on websites to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of the DTI.
	The cost of the Companies House website for the financial year 2002/2003 was £143,352 plus of an employee to manage and update as necessary.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Grants (Non-Government Bodies)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the grants paid by (a) his Department and (b) Northern Ireland Government Departments to non-government bodies in the last year for which information is available.

Patricia Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.
	In financial year 2002–03 my Department made a large number of grant payments to non-government bodies under various schemes and activities including the following:
	
		
			 Scheme Description 
		
		
			 Regional Selective Assistance Grant for fixed capital expenditure in Assisted Areas. 
			 Electronics Design Programme Grants to enhance awareness and adoption of advanced design methods by SMEs in the sector. 
			 Acorn Grants to develop and trail a manageable, staged approach to the adoption of codified best practice environmental systems by SMEs 
			 EUROIM II Grant to Mineral Industry Research Organisation (MIRO) to provide information and advice to help businesses find partners and prepare proposals for R&D support from EC programme 
			 Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Equipment (HEVACR) Grant to Federation of Environmental Trade Associations (FETA) to kick-start an industry driven self-help initiative aimed at raising competitiveness in the sector. 
			 Digital Test Bed Grants to projects to promote take-up of digital broadcasting and prevent market. 
			 Fast Track Funding to promote and support innovation, knowledge management and knowledge transfer in the construction sector. 
			 Manufacturing for Biotechnology Initiative Grants to highlight the possibilities and strategic importance of the sector e.g. advisory service; training grants. 
			 Basic Technologies Programme Grants to co-ordinate activities aimed at the uptake by industry of new and improved technology. 
			 CARAD Direct grants for civil aerospace sector to assist with research and technology. 
			 Cleaner Coal Technology Programme Grants for R&D on cleaner coals technologies in collaboration with industry. 
			 LINK LINK is a generic framework enabling Government Departments and Research Councils to fund research. 
			 New and Renewable Energy Programme Grants to encourage uptake of renewable. 
			 Partners in Innovation Grants for collaborative innovation research projects relating to the construction industry. 
			 Faraday Grants to partnerships of business and research institutions to employ "technology translators". 
			 Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP) Grants to fund undergraduates working with SME/community organisations undertaking projects specified by business. 
			 Partnership Fund Grants to stimulate a step-change in the way employers and employees work together. 
			 UK Online for Business Grants to businesses to address the "e-productivity gap" to make the UK a world leader in take-up of information and communication technologies. 
			 Industry Fora Grants for projects devised by industry to transfer best practice in various sectors. 
			 Manufacturing Advisory Service Advisory service introducing manufacturing best practice and for a national network of Centres of Manufacturing Expertise 
			 Regional Enterprise Grants Grants to firms with growth potential for investment in assisted areas. 
			 Building Up Biomaterials Grant to establish R&D and knowledge transfer. 
			 Digital TV Initiative (Part of Digital TV Action plan) Grants to projects to provide groundwork on barriers to switchover. 
			 Britech Bilateral collaborative R&D programme between UK/Israel. 
			 Smart Grants to feasibility and prototype projects to encourage investment in small, early-stage technology projects. 
			 Teaching Companies Scheme Grants to fund graduates (TCS Associates) working within a firm/group of firms on a specific technology transfer project. 
			 ICT Carrier Programme Grants to projects designed to improve process and product in engineering businesses. 
			 Science and Engineering Ambassadors Grants to provide external consultancy services to support management of a network of science and engineering ambassadors. 
			 SETNET (including STEM) Grants to draw together existing and develop new initiatives aimed at fostering the teaching and learning of engineering-related subjects in schools. 
			 ITEC Skills Programme Grants to programmes designed to improve information technology, electronics and communications skills in schools and the workforce, and to promote diversity in these professions 
			 Sustainable Technologies Initiative Part of this scheme is delivered through LINK (see above). There is also additional funding for wider collaborative R&D activities. 
			 Bio-wise Grants to improve awareness of the potential of the biotechnology industry and to facilitate the take up of biotechnology. 
			 Applied Genomics Extension of existing Applied Genomics LINK programme to fully utilise unspent Research Council funds 
			 Corn-met 2005 Grants to Mechanical and Metal Trades Confederation (METCOM) for research into sector's competitive deficiencies and for programmes to address these. 
		
	
	I am unable to give details of individual grants paid under these schemes for reasons of third party's commercial confidences.
	My Department is not responsible for grants paid by Northern Ireland Government Departments.

Teenagers (Health Services)

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans there are for a teenage cancer unit in Northern Ireland.

Des Browne: In January 2003 the Department agreed that the Royal Group of Hospitals Trust should prepare an Outline Business Case for the development of services at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. The Trust is currently preparing the Outline Business Case, which includes a proposal for the establishment of a dedicated multi-disciplinary adolescent unit containing provision for teenagers with cancer.

Teenagers (Health Services)

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many teenagers with cancer in Belfast South were treated on wards for children or old people in each of the last three years.

Des Browne: The following table shows the number of teenagers from the Belfast South parliamentary constituency who were admitted to hospitals in Northern Ireland when the primary diagnosis was cancer.
	
		
			  Number of admissions 
		
		
			 1999–2000 36 
			 2000–01 15 
			 2001–02 20 
		
	
	Source:
	Hospital in-patients system
	Information about the type of wards in which patients are treated is not readily available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Teenagers (Health Services)

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps primary care trusts in South Belfast are taking to tackle late and mis-diagnosis of teenagers with cancer.

Des Browne: Most young people with suspected cancer are usually seen by a specialist within 24 hours of referral by their GP. Cancers in teenagers are very rare and are mostly haematological malignancies. The Department's Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer is currently developing regional guidance on haematological malignancies, including paediatric malignancies, which will be issued to all relevant clinicians, including doctors in primary care.
	The Department and the Eastern Health and Social Services Board are not considering any further specific action at this time in relation to late diagnosis or misdiagnosis of teenagers with cancer.

Teenagers (Health Services)

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons the Government does not recognise teenagers as a separate category for delivery of health services.

Des Browne: The Government do recognise that in many areas of health care adolescents have particular needs. Work is being taken forward in areas such as cancer, mental health, learning disability, drug and alcohol abuse and teenage pregnancy to address, where possible, the particular needs of teenagers.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Staff

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister what reasons underlie the increase in staff employed by his Office between 1998 and 2002.

Tony Blair: The main changes to my office are outlined in the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 25 March 2003, Official Report, columns 125–27W.
	The number of staff has increased in response to the changes made following the June 2001 election, as outlined in the press notice which I placed in the Library of the House at the time, and in order to cover additional pressures on my office which include operational matters and dealing with more correspondence, over one million letters over the last year alone.

Hospitality

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister how much was spent on hospitality by the (a) strategic communications unit and (b) corporate communications division in 2001–02.

Tony Blair: During 2001–02, the units spent £730 on hospitality, including refreshments at meetings and seminars for government officials and other external visitors. All hospitality was provided in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer of 2 April 2003, Official Report, column 910, what evidence he has received that (a) the Iraqi authorities have used children as human shields in battle zones, (b) the Iraqi authorities plan to desecrate religious shrines and blame the damage on United Kingdom and United States invasion forces and (c) the Iraqi authorities have placed military assets on or near ancient historical and religious monuments as deterrents.

Tony Blair: As I said in the House on 2 April, we have a concern, based on intelligence, that the Iraqi regime intended to damage holy sites with a view to blaming the coalition falsely for that damage.
	I am aware also of media reports that children have been used as human shields and we have seen indications from the field and coalition partners that the Iraqi authorities have placed military assets near schools and hospitals.

Iraq

Paul Marsden: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the steps he has taken to press the UN to create an international court to try Saddam Hussein for (a) war crimes and (b) genocide.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I gave in the House today.

Iraq

Roger Gale: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer of 2 April 2003, Official Report, column 912, on postage to Her Majesty's forces in Iraq, when he expects that a free mail service will be available for families wishing to send parcels to British forces serving in Iraq.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Ministry of Defence on 10 April 2003, Official Report, columns 32–34WS.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether it is his policy to endorse the rearmament of Iraq following the conflict in the Gulf;
	(2)  what discussions he has had relating to the rearmament of Iraq following the conflict in the Gulf.

Tony Blair: I have had no discussions concerning the rearmament of Iraq. Iraq is currently subject to UN sanctions prohibiting the import of all military and dual use goods. It will be for the UN Security Council to decide whether and when the conditions are in place to lift these sanctions.

Research and Information Unit

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister what categories of information are held about (a) individual hon. Members and (b) opposition parties by the Research and Information Unit.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 June 2002, Official Report, column 463W.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Absenteeism

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of absenteeism rates in days per annum for staff in his Department in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established following Machinery of Government changes in May 2002. Information on absenteeism, other than sick absence, is not kept centrally. Absenteeism is managed by the line, and no estimates are made, or kept centrally.

Advertising Campaigns

Mark Prisk: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns between April 2002 and March 2003; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to (a) television, (b) radio and (c) print media.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002.
	From May 2002 to end March 2003 the total spending on advertising and promotional campaigns was £3,718,767 (ex VAT).
	Of this, the spend of individual campaigns on (a) television, (b) radio and (c) print media was as follows (all figures are ex VAT):
	Fire Safety
	Action Plan (September 2002-November 2002)
	(a) Television: £1,569,694
	(b) Radio: £17,514
	(c) Print media: n/a
	Kitchen Safety (February-March 2003)
	(a) Television: £959,184
	(b) Radio: £110,877
	(c) Print media: n/a
	Fire Strike publicity (October 2002-January 2003)
	(a) Television: n/a
	(b) Radio: £312,936
	(c) Print media: £349,063
	Neighbourhood Renewal
	Print media: £27,675

Asylum Support

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what help will be given to district councils that have asylum seekers in respect of (a) housing, (b) health and (c) education.

Nick Raynsford: In respect of housing, the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has entered into contracts with the private and public sector to provide accommodation for destitute asylum seekers. Only local authorities contracted to NASS would be asked to provide accommodation for asylum seekers placed in their areas. Other district councils would not be required to provide accommodation for asylum seekers.
	Only upper tier authorities are responsible for providing education and healthcare. People applying for asylum in the UK are entitled to full use of the NHS without charge. Primary Care Trusts are the statutory organisations responsible for providing their residents—including asylum seekers—with health care and are funded directly to enable them to achieve this. Local education authorities fund the education service and receive most of their funding through general grant.

Council Tax

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research his Department has undertaken into the ability to pay of (a) pensioners and (b) low waged households in England in relation to the council tax.

Christopher Leslie: We have not undertaken such research. However, council tax benefit, administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, is available to help low income households pay their council tax. Council tax benefit is paid to around 3.9 million households in England, of which around 2 million are pensioners.
	In addition, central Government surveys collect some relevant information on an ongoing basis. The Expenditure and Food Survey, for example, collects information on the percentage of household income that is spent on local taxes, and information is available for each income decile.

Council Tax

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average council tax as a percentage of the average (a) wage and (b) state pension in England was in each financial year since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: The following table gives figures for the average council tax per dwelling (net of council tax benefit) as percentages of average gross earnings and of the full basic state pension for each year since 1997–98.
	It should be noted, however, that the figures given do not necessarily reflect the relative abilities of wage earners and pensioners to pay council tax. Gross earnings and basic state pension figures are not comparable as measures of income, and neither of them can be said to represent disposable income. Gross earnings figures are, for example, before tax and other deductions, whereas the basic state pension represents a relatively small proportion of the income received by many pensioners. Furthermore, it has been assumed, in the absence of precise information, that reductions in council tax as a result of council tax benefit are spread evenly across all council taxpayers, whereas it is likely that, in reality, pensioners are assisted by benefit to a greater extent than wage earners.
	
		
			  Average net council tax per dwelling as a percentage of average gross earnings(6) Average net council tax per dwelling as a percentage of full basic state pension(7) 
		
		
			 1997–98 3.0 17.4 
			 1998–99 3.1 18.2 
			 1999–2000 3.2 18.9 
			 2000–01 3.2 19.9 
			 2001–02 3.2 19.7 
			 2002–03 3.4 20.5 
			 2003–04 Not available 22.5 
		
	
	Sources:
	(6) Office for National Statistics—Average gross weekly earnings for all ages based on full-time employees whose pay was unaffected by absence (figures are for Great Britain).
	(7) Department for Work and Pension—based on basic state pension for under-80s (Great Britain).

Council Tax

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to raise the level of council tax as a percentage of total revenue expenditure.

Nick Raynsford: The Government have no such plans. Decisions on council tax levels are a matter for individual local authorities, after consulting their council tax payers.

Council Tax

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the 10 district councils in England with the largest rise in council tax for this year.

Christopher Leslie: The 10 English non-metropolitan district councils with the largest percentage increase in their own Band D council tax (excluding local precepts) between 2002–03 and 2003–04 are, in descending order:
	Stratford-on-Avon
	Weymouth & Portland
	West Oxfordshire
	Eastbourne
	Fenland
	Cherwell
	Runnymede
	Purbeck
	Daventry
	South Staffordshire

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department spent on (a) publicity, (b) promotions, and (c) hospitality in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) was created following the Machinery of Government changes on 29 May 2002. The table shows the Office's expected spend on publicity, including fire safety advertising; promotions, including housing, planning and neighbourhood renewal initiatives; and hospitality; from 1 June 2002 to 31 March 2003.
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Publicity 5,830 
			 Promotions 5,150 
			 Hospitality 14

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was spent by his Department, its predecessors and its agencies on external consultants, in each year since 1997; what annual cost savings this expenditure resulted in; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Invoices

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the occasions on which (a) his Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days or after the agreed credit period in the financial year 2001–02.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created in May 2002. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made with the pay review in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible, with particular reference to the gender pay gap; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: Following the Government's response to the Equal Opportunity Commission Task Force 'Just Pay' report, all departments and agencies are committed to reviewing their pay systems by April 2003 and to prepare action plans to close any equal pay gaps. The Cabinet Office has issued guidance to assist in these reviews. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its agencies are on course to complete the reviews by the end of April. non-departmental public bodies were not formally covered by the commitment, but they are undertaking reviews as a matter of good practice.

E-Voting

Tom Watson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what safeguards are being put in place to ensure that e-voting does not make it easier for dishonest individuals to abuse the system.

Christopher Leslie: There is a range of measures in place to guard against abuse in the e-voting pilots. This includes the use of voter specific PIN numbers and passwords, real time electronic registers to cast and record votes and systems to prevent an electronic vote being cast where voter identification has been used previously. Should a voter find that a vote has already been cast in his name, he will be entitled to ask for a tendered ballot in the normal way. All pilot authorities are under a legal obligation to report instances of fraud to the Police and the Electoral Commission, the appropriate authorities to investigate alleged electoral abuse. The Commission will conduct a thorough post-election evaluation exercise looking at all aspects of the programme, including fraud and security, to consider what lessons need to be learnt for the future.

E-Voting

Tom Watson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what is being done to maintain public confidence in the security and privacy of the electoral system in the introduction of further e-voting pilots in May.

Christopher Leslie: All e-voting pilots will be subject to pre-election independent security checks and post-election surveys and evaluation, the results of which will be made available to participating authorities and the public. E-voting authorities are required to work closely with all stakeholders including the public to demonstrate how their arrangements do not enhance the opportunity for fraud or undermine the secrecy and security of the poll. This includes use of public testing demonstrations and voter awareness programmes to gauge opinion and instil public confidence.

Employment Relations Act

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff in his Department have taken time off from work in order to attend to domestic incidents as provided for by the Employment Relations Act 1999.

Christopher Leslie: Responsibility for authorising and monitoring time off is devolved to individual management units within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and this information could be collected only at disproportionate cost. Staff in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Headquarters, the Agencies, and the Government Offices are provided with the ability to apply for special leave to deal with a range of domestic incidents subject to the approval of line management. This special leave provision is generally more generous than that required under the Employment Relations Act 1999.

Energy White Paper

Llew Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how his Department was consulted in the preparation of the Energy White Paper, Cm.5761.

Tony McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was consulted in the preparation of the Energy White Paper primarily through a Ministerial Cabinet Sub-Committee on Energy Policy attended by ODPM Ministers and chaired by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. Officials were also closely involved through a variety of inter-Departmental arrangements specifically set up for the Energy White Paper.

Entertainment Costs

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he has entertained Labour hon. Members at public expense in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Christopher Leslie: All meetings between my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and hon. Members which have included refreshment have been working meetings on departmental and Government business.

Government Grant

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the government grant per head for 2003–04 is for each London borough.

Nick Raynsford: The following table gives formula grant, ie Revenue Support Grant, Redistributed Business Rates and Police Grant (for the City of London), per head for each London borough.
	
		
			 London borough 2003–04 Formula Grant(£ million) Mid-2001 population estimates 2003–04 Formula Grant per head(£ per head) 
		
		
			 City of London 96.2 7,216 13,336.05 
			 
			 Camden 204.4 198,432 1,029.92 
			 Greenwich 245.7 215,238 1,141.71 
			 Hackney 274.4 203,352 1,349.32 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 154.5 165,476 933.38 
			 Islington 216.9 176,103 1,231.86 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 129.1 159,147 811.08 
			 Lambeth 283.3 266,791 1,062.03 
			 Lewisham 270.3 249,451 1,083.38 
			 Southwark 312.5 245,416 1,273.47 
			 Tower Hamlets 324.9 196,630 1,652.19 
			 Wandsworth 217.4 260,847 833.61 
			 Westminster 216.2 181,691 1,189.86 
			 
			 Barking and Dagenham 161.8 164,346 984.56 
			 Barnet 215.8 315,267 684.46 
			 Bexley 165.2 218,756 755.29 
			 Brent 251.3 263,805 952.43 
			 Bromley 181.1 296,155 611.57 
			 Croydon 246.0 331,530 742.02 
			 Haling 249.5 301,553 827.53 
			 Enfield 236.2 274,343 861.06 
			 Haringey 232.3 216,809 1,071.42 
			 Harrow 147.1 207,988 707.04 
			 Havering 154.4 224,720 687.16 
			 Hillingdon 182.1 243,052 749.14 
			 Hounslow 182.8 212,668 859.34 
			 Kingston upon Thames 86.5 147,625 585.92 
			 Merton 122.2 188,348 648.65 
			 Newham 341.1 244,291 1,396.40 
			 Redbridge 190.3 239,329 795.06 
			 Richmond upon Thames 86.9 172,808 503.07  
			 Sutton 126.6 180,174 702.69 
			 Waltham Forest 216.8 218,649 991.33 
		
	
	It is not possible to calculate the total amount of grant that each London borough will receive for the period 2003–04 as some grant allocations have not yet been announced.

Sustainable Communities

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment of the liveability of the plans for the growth areas in the Sustainable Communities-Communities plan (a) has been carried out and (b) is planned to be carried out; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The individual growth area studies looked at the long term sustainable growth options within each area. Further assessment of the sustainability of the growth areas will be carried out as a part of the review of Regional Planning Guidance for each area. As indicated in Sustainable Communities: Building for the future, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to bringing together the best of design and planning to ensure that the built environment in new and expanded communities is of a high quality, and the surrounding countryside is protected and enhanced.

Housing

Matthew Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the Departmental Expenditure Limit for housing was in the financial year 1999–2000.

Nick Raynsford: The 1999–2000 Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions included an element for housing on which outturn was £2,838 million.

Housing

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if his Department will continue to produce monthly data on housing starts and completions.

Tony McNulty: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Housing

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reason his Department proposes to replace monthly monitoring of housing starts and completions with a quarterly series.

Tony McNulty: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Isle of Wight

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received since 1997 from organisations and individuals other than hon. Members on (a) the financial implications of the costs incurred by the Isle of Wight Council due to physical separation from the mainland, (b) the case for the Isle of Wight to be recognised separately from Hampshire in the compilation of regional statistics and (c) the implications for the Isle of Wight of being included with Hampshire in the compilation of regional statistics.

Nick Raynsford: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Isle of White Council have made representations in successive local government finance settlements, and in response to last summer's formula grant consultation, stating that they incur costs from separation from the mainland which should be recognised.
	(b) and (c) Since 1997 the Office for National Statistics has been approached directly by the Isle of Wight Council several times, most recently in 2002, and has been asked to contribute to a reply to a request that the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce made of the Department of Trade and Industry in 2002.

Mobile Phones

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many mobile phones have been used and at what cost by (a) himself and Ministers in his Department, (b) special advisers in his Department and (c) his departmental officials in each year since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: Since the creation of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 29 May 2002, the number of mobile phones used by Ministers, special advisers and departmental officials and their costs are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of mobile phones Cost (£) 
		
		
			 Ministers 3 1,454 
			 Special advisers 1 617 
			 Departmental officials (8)Records not heldcentrally (8)Records not heldcentrally 
		
	
	(8) Records on mobile phones are not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost—the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently in the process of compiling a comprehensive list following the Machinery of Government changes.

Online Sales/Purchases

Tim Yeo: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) products, (b) goods and (c) services were (i) bought and (ii) sold online by his Department in each of the last five years.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established on 29 May 2002. Since that date the following products and goods have been bought online:
	Products and goods
	IT equipment
	IT consumables
	Stationery
	Books
	Periodicals
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not buy services online, and neither does it sell products, goods or services online.

Parental Leave

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff in his Department have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive since it came into force.

Christopher Leslie: Since the establishment of the Office in May 2002, 12 staff have benefited from entitlement to parental leave in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, its Agencies and the Government Offices.

Private Finance Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the expected saving to public funds from the private finance initiative schemes due to become operational in 2003.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Brent, South on 10 April 2003, Official Report, column 400W.

Public Sector Land

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when English Partnerships was given its new strategic role for surplus public sector land; when its register of surplus public sector land will be published; what land has been transferred to English Partnerships from other public sector bodies; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Deputy Prime Minister gave English Partnerships a new strategic role for surplus public sector land on 24 July 2002 as part of his announcement about the outcome of the Review of the organisation.
	This new role will help ensure that we make better use of surplus public sector land. It will make an important contribution to the targets set out in "Sustainable communities: building for the future" which we published in February. Working with the Regional Development Agencies, English Partnerships will help ensure that wider Government objectives, such as housing and regional economic strategies, are factored into future site disposals.
	English Partnerships hope to complete an initial version of the register of surplus of public sector land in late May. They will then develop this into an interactive register, which will be available to all Government Departments, their agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The register will enable them to identify suitable sites to help meet their operational objectives and information from it may be made available publicly.
	No sites have yet been acquired by English Partnerships from other public bodies under their new strategic role. It is likely that any sites acquired by English Partnerships will be purchased at open market value.

Regional Assemblies

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many responses from Cambridgeshire the Minister received to the public consultation on regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has to date received 48 responses from Cambridgeshire to the soundings exercise on the level of interest in holding a referendum about establishing an elected regional assembly.

Regional Development Agencies/Government Offices for the Regions

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the administrative costs of each (a) Regional Development Agency and (b) Government Office for the Region was in financial year 1999–2000; and what estimate he has made of their administrative costs in 2003–04.

Christopher Leslie: The administrative costs for the Government Offices for the Regions for 1999–2000 and the estimate for 2003–04 are in the table.
	
		Table 1 -- £000
		
			 Government Offices 1999–2000 2003–04 
		
		
			 North East 8,312.04 8,272.25 
			 North West 13,048.59 13,484.94 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 8,888.69 9,314.12 
			 West Midlands 9,330.15 9,076.90 
			 East Midlands 6,951.29 7,245.19 
			 East 7,005.46 7,763.10 
			 South East 8,658.60 9,260.98 
			 South West 7,796.85 9,712.91 
			 London 13,715.79 11,674.43 
			 Total 83,707.46 85,804.82 
		
	
	The administrative costs for the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) for 1999–2000 are in the Table 2. The London Development Agency did not begin operations until July 2000.
	Figures are taken from the RDAs annual accounts for the year ended 31 March 2000 (Income and Expenditure Account—salaries and wages, plus other administrative expenditure). The administrative costs of the Regional Development Agencies for the year 2003–04 are currently being considered, and will be agreed shortly.
	Responsibility for RDAs now lies with the Department of Trade and Industry.
	
		Table 2
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 North East 16.6 
			 North West 15.2 
			 Yorkshire 14.9 
			 East Midlands 8.3 
			 West Midlands 9.2 
			 East 4.4 
			 South East 6.8 
			 South West 11.0 
			 London n/a

Fire Service

David Ruffley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many retained firefighters there were at each fire station in Suffolk in each year since 1997.

Nick Raynsford: Information on the retained firefighter establishment figures for each fire station in Suffolk is in the following table, from the most recent available year which is 1999.
	
		
			  Number of retained firefighter posts 
			 Name of station 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Aldeburgh 10 11 11 11 
			 Beccles 14 11 11 11 
			 Brandon 9 11 11 11 
			 Bungay 9 11 11 11 
			 Bury St. Edmunds 16 16 16 18 
			 Clare 11 11 11 11 
			 Clifton Road 11 11 11 11 
			 Debenham 9 11 11 11 
			 Elmswell 12 11 11 11 
			 Eye 12 11 11 11 
			 Felixstowe 16 14 14 14 
			 Framlingham 9 12 12 12 
			 Hadleigh 11 11 11 11 
			 Halesworth 10 11 11 11 
			 Haverhill 16 16 16 16 
			 Headquarters 13 18 18 18 
			 Holbrook 9 11 11 11 
			 Ixworth 10 11 11 11 
			 Leiston 8 11 11 11 
			 Long Melford 10 11 11 11 
			 Mildenhall 10 11 11 11 
			 Nayland 10 11 11 11 
			 Needham Market 11 11 11 11 
			 Newmarket 16 16 16 18 
			 Normanshurst 18 16 16 16 
			 Orford 11 11 11 11 
			 Princes Street 11 12 12 12 
			 Saxmundham 11 11 11 11 
			 Southwold 11 11 11 11 
			 Stowmarket 11 11 11 11 
			 Stradbroke 11 11 11 11 
			 Sudbury 17 16 17 16 
			 Wickhambrook 9 11 11 11 
			 Woodbridge 9 11 11 11 
			 Wrentham 8 11 11 11 
			 Total 399 422 423 426 
		
	
	Retained firefighter establishment, year ending 31 March (as required by Section 19(1) of the Fire Services Act)

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many individuals have been seconded to his Department from (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, in each case listing (i) from which organisation and (ii) dates of secondments in each year since 1997–98.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The following table shows the number of individuals seconded to the Office since that date.
	
		
			  Start End 
			 Organisation Year Month Year Month 
		
		
			 Private Sector 
			 Pinsant Curtis Biddle 2002 September 2003 March 
			 Sport England 2002 November 2004 November 
			 SPLASH 2003 February 2005 February 
			 Institute for Public Policy Research 2003 February 2003 March 
			 Urban Projects 2002 July 2003 July 
			 Save the Children 2003 February 2003 March 
			 Shelter 2002 August 2003 April 
			 National Housing Federation 2002 October 2004 September 
			 British Urban Regeneration Association 2003 February 2004 February 
			  
			 NGOs 
			 Local Government Ombudsman 2002 November 2003 November 
			 Audit Commission 2003 January 2003 May 
			 Audit Commission 2003 January 2004 January 
			 Audit Commission 2003 January 2003 May 
			 Audit Commission 2003 January 2004 March 
			 Audit Commission 2003 January 2004 March 
			  
			 Other 
			 London borough of Newham 2002 September 2003 May 
			 Elmbridge borough council 2003 February 2003 August 
			 Test Valley borough council 2003 January 2003 July 
			 Newcastle city council 2002 August 2003 March 
			 South Gloucestershire council 2002 October 2003 December 
			 Irwell Valley Housing Association 2002 June 2003 June 
			 Manchester Housing 2002 November 2003 July 
			 London Thames Gateway Forum 2002 August 2003 August 
			 South West Dev Agency 2003 January 2004 June 
			 Capacity 2002 October 2004 October 
			 Bracknell Forest council 2003 March 2004 March 
			 London borough of Camden 2002 September 2003 May 
			 Chesterfield Primary Care Trust 2002 October 2003 July

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff are employed by his Department.

Christopher Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) on 3 April 2003, Official Report, column 779W.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff were employed by his Department in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03.

Christopher Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to, the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South on 4 April 2003, Official Report, column 891W.

Staff Union Duties

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in 2002.

Christopher Leslie: The number of staff who received paid leave to undertake union duties (excluding health and safety activity) in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, including Government Offices, its Executive Agencies and NDPBs is 97.5 (the majority are part-time representatives). The total number of days allocated to the staff is 2,055. The costs of time spent on industrial relations and/or trade union activities, based on average salary costs is £261,778.

Statutory Instruments

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the statutory instruments issued by his Department in the last 12 months, indicating (a) the purpose of each and (b) the cost of each to (i) public funds, (ii) businesses and (iii) individuals.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed on 29 May 2002. From that date until 31 March 2003 it issued 48 general statutory instruments and 31 local statutory instruments. The purpose of each instrument is explained in its explanatory note.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold the information requested concerning the actual cost of implementing the instruments in question. However, in the case of a number of instruments a regulatory impact assessment was prepared which indicates the likely cost of the measure on business, charities and the voluntary sector. Copies of these assessments will have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	The general instruments referred to above are listed below. The list identifies those for which a regulatory impact assessment was prepared.
	
		
			 SI No SI Title RIA 
		
		
			 1670 The Boroughs of Halton, Thurrock and Warrington (Changes to Years of Elections) Order 2002 No 
			 1689 The Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 Yes 
			 1718 (c.48) The Local Government Act 2000 (Commencement No 8) Order 2002 No 
			 1719 The Local Government Act 2000 (Model Code of Conduct) (Amendment) Order 2002 No 
			 1723 The Local Government Commission for England (Winding-Up) Order 2002 No 
			 1751 The Leasehold Reform (Notices) (Amendments) (England) Regulations 2002 No 
			 1799 (c.56) The Homelessness Act 2002 (Commencement No. 1) (England) Order 2002 No 
			 1852 The Local Government Pension Scheme (Management and Investment of Funds) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 No 
			 1878 The Local Authorities (Discretionary Expenditure Limits) (England) Order 2002 No 
			 1912 (c.58) The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (Commencement No.1 Savings and Transitional Provisions) (England) Order 2002 No 
			 1951 The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre Trading Fund (Variation) Order 2002 No 
			 2227 The Long Residential Tenancies (Principal Forms) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2002 No 
			 2244 The Local Authorities (Goods and Services) (Public Bodies) (England) (No.2) Order 2002 No 
			 2298 The Local Authorities (Companies) (Amendment) (England) Order 2002 No 
			 2299 The Local Authorities (Capital Finance) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 No 
			 2324 The Homelessness Act 2002 (Commencement No.20 and Transitional Provisions) (England) Order 2002 No 
			 2624 The Local Authorities (Goods and Services) (Public Bodies) (England) (No.3) Order 2002 No 
			 2682 The Town and Country Planning (Enforcement Notices and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2002 Yes 
			 2683 The Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) (Written Representations Procedure) (England) Regulations 2002 Yes 
			 2684 The Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) (Hearings Procedure) (England) Rules 2002 Yes 
			 2685 The Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) (Determination by Inspectors) (Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2002 Yes 
			 2686 The Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) (Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2002 Yes 
			 2842 The Architects Qualifications (EC Recognition) Order 2002 No 
			 2871 The Building (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2002 Yes 
			 2872 The Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 Yes 
			 2876 The Borough of Blackburn with Darwen and the City of Peterborough (Changes to Years of Elections) Order 2002 No 
			 2954 The City of Plymouth (Scheme for Elections) order 2002 No 
			 3021 The Non-Domestic Rating Contributions (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 No 
			 3208 The Leasehold Reform (Collective Enfranchisement) (Counter-notices) (England) Regulations 2002 No 
			 3209 The Leasehold Reform (Notices) (Amendment) (No.2) (England) Regulations 2002 No 
			 3264 The Allocation of Housing (England) Regulations 2002 No 
			 5 The Revenue Support Grant (Specified Bodies) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003 No 
			 195 The Local Authorities (Alterations of Requisite Calculations) (England) Regulations 2003 No 
			 225 The Greater London Authority (Allocation of Grants for Precept Calculations) Regulations 2003 No 
			 248 The Local Authorities (Capital Finance) (Rate of Discount for 2003/04) (England) Regulations 2003 No 
			 329 The Rating Lists (Valuation Date) (England) Order 2003 No 
			 354 The Local Authorities (Goods and Services) (Public Bodies) (England) Order 2003 No 
			 464 The Town and Country Planning (Costs of Inquiries etc.) (Standard Daily Amount) (England) Regulations 2003 No 
			 498 The Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (Amendment) Order 2003 No 
			 515 The Local Authority (Capital Finance) (Amendment No.2) (England) Regulations 2003 No 
			 530 The Local Government (Best Value) Performance Standards Order 2003 No 
			 533 The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 No 
			 714 The Financial Assistance for Environmental Purposes (England) Order 2003 No 
			 768 The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003 No 
			 907 The Local Authorities (Charges for Specified Welfare Services) (England) Regulations 2003 No 
			 940 The Regulatory Reform (Housing Management Agreements) Order 2003 No 
			 956 The Town and Country Planning (Electronic Communications) (England) Order 2003 No 
			 986 The Regulatory Reform (Schemes Under Section 129 of the Housing Act 1988) (England) Order 2003 No

Sunset Clauses

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the sunset clauses included in legislation from his Department since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002, and none of its Bills since then have included sunset clauses.

Helplines

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many telephone helplines are sponsored by his Department; and which of these helplines are charged at (a) national rate, (b) premium rate and (c) local rate.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has 43 helplines, switchboards and contact points, of which none are charged at the national rate, none at the premium rate and four at the local rate. The details are in the following table.
	
		
			 Helpline name Number Rate 
		
		
			 Public Fire Information Line 0845 0800 723 Local 
			 Emergency Information Cell (Fire) 0845 0800 716 Local 
			 Local Government Ombudsman—England 0845 602 1983 Local 
			 The Standards Board for England 0845 0788 181 Local 
		
	
	Of the remaining 39 helplines within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, two are free and the other 37 are charged at the normal geographic rate which is dependent on where the caller is ringing from.

Telephones

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what procedures were used by his Department in awarding contracts for the supply of mobile and car telephones to his Department and its executive agencies; which companies were involved in tendering for these contracts; what agreements his Department and its executive agencies have with companies for the provision of mobile and car phones; if he will list the companies having these contracts, the duration of the contracts, the number of telephones covered by each agreement and the cost to public funds of each agreement; what costs his Department and executive agencies have incurred as a result of withdrawing from contracts under which mobile telephones are provided in the last three years; and if he will list the companies concerned.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's current policy is to use a Central Government contract for the provision of mobile phone services. This is an EC tendered contract let by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), who alone dealt with the contract award process. Use of the OGC contract is available to those public bodies who sign up to the OGC Framework agreement. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's central offices, Rent Service Agency, Fire Service College and Planning Inspectorate all use this contract, and as such, procure mobile services from it via a simple ordering procedure. The contract can supply services from Orange, O2 and Vodafone; the latter are the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's predominate supplier.
	The further information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Telephones

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was spent on telephone costs by (a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) his Department's non-departmental public bodies staff in each year since 1997; and if internal telephone directories are available to staff in all areas of (a) to (c).

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. Since then, £912,000 has been spent on telephone costs for the central Office of the Deputy Prime Minister during financial year 2002–03. Figures for Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's agencies and non-departmental public bodies are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's internal directory is stored electronically and all its staff and one of the Executive Agencies (The Planning Inspectorate) have on-line access to it. The remaining three agencies and the non-departmental public bodies have no on-line access, but are provided with data extracts on request.

Telephones

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many mobile telephones are supplied for his personal use; what the cost of each phone is on a monthly basis; and how much he has paid for personal usage since June 2001.

Christopher Leslie: The Deputy Prime Minister has been supplied with one mobile phone, not for his personal use but for Departmental business use by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; the cost of the phone varies from month to month depending on the number of calls made, but the line rental/service charges are £10.58 a month; and the Deputy Prime Minister has paid £40.04 for personal usage since June 2002.

Tunbridge Wells and Kent Councils

Archie Norman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) type and (b) value of (i) specific and (ii) special grants have been provided by central government to (A) Tunbridge Wells borough council and (B) Kent county council in each year since 1997.

Nick Raynsford: pursuant to his answer, 25 March 2003, Official Report, c. 184W
	The following two tables give all the special and specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) provided to Tunbridge Wells and Kent. The information is taken from the Reporting Officer forms returned on an annual basis by authorities to ODPM. The entries for 1997–2002 are actual figures. These are not yet available for 2002–03 and therefore budgeted figures have been given. The definition of ring-fencing was updated last year to reflect the types of grant which now exist. Some grants previously classified as ring-fenced are not now classified in this way. The key distinction made remains that ring-fenced grants are those which restrict local authority spending. For completeness the following list includes all special grants inside Aggregate External Finance. Further details of classifications are in an annex to the freedoms and flexibilities announcement of 26 November.
	
		£000
		
			 Tunbridge Wells 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–002 2002–03 Budget only 
		
		
			 Emergency planning — — — 1 — — 
			 Total ring-fenced specific grants 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Housing benefit administration 158 165 164 162 150 249 
			 Council tax benefit administration 73 74 74 93 87 — 
			 Total unring-fenced specific grants 231 239 238 255 237 249 
			 Revenue support grant 3,242 2,972 2,872 2,749 3,103 2,787 
			 National non-domestic rates 3,279 3,292 3,503 3,913 3,871 4,352 
			 Gross AEF 6,752 6,503 6,613 6,918 7,211 7,388 
			 Percentage ring-fenced of gross AEF 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 
		
	
	
		£000
		
			 Kent 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 Budget only 
		
		
			 AIDS support 308 140 50 127 115 105 
			 Asylum seekers 267 4,955 22,974 49,176 46,522 34,003 
			 Building care capacity — — — — — 4,447 
			 Carers' grant — — — — — 2,169 
			 Child care and early years — — — 1,405 3,237 16,041 
			 Children's services (Quality Protects) — — 1,462 2,302 5,974 10,442 
			 Civil Defence 323 273 — — — — 
			 Class size reductions — — 777 — — — 
			 Community care special transitional grant 9,737 9,045 — — — — 
			 Deferred payments — — — — — 977 
			 Education budget support grant — — — — 100 — 
			 Education of travellers and displaced persons 275 310 — — — — 
			 Emergency planning — — 273 252 375 260 
			 Ethnic minorities achievement grant — 837 748 — — — 
			 Former GM schools transitional grant — — — 375 42 — 
			 Guardians ad litem 205 — — — — — 
			 Magistrates courts 5,805 6,055 6,086 6,093 6,313 5,884 
			 Mental health 1,467 1,317 2,306 2,594 3,136 3,235 
			 Nursery education grant for 4-year-olds — — 5,861 5,964 — — 
			 Nursery education grant for 3-year-olds — — — — — 11,203 
			 Other grants within AEF — 19 1,159 9,252 3,094 591 
			 Performance fund — — — — — 1,254 
			 Preserved rights — — — — — 30,044 
			 Probation (ordinary 80 per cent. grant) 8,282 8,221 8,872 9,781 — — 
			 Promoting independence — — 7,383 7,451 9,440 3,958 
			 Provision for 3-year-olds — — — 475 5,242 — 
			 Residential allowances — — — — — 2,269 
			 Rural bus services — 1,252 1,230 1,292 1,644 1,885 
			 School budget support grant — — — 1,463 — — 
			 Section 11 (ethnic minorities) grant 935 — — — — — 
			 Social services training support program 776 643 514 689 791 673 
			 Standards fund 5,342 6,264 13,620 26,207 31,162 35,137 
			 Supported employment 123 100 24 96 103 — 
			 Supporting people implementation grant — — — — — 700 
			 Teachers' pay reform — — — 2,896 17,637 12,000 
			 Teenage pregnancy local implementation grant — — — — — 240 
			 Under-5s specific grant — 5,709 — — — — 
			 Young people's substance misuse grant — — — — — 91 
			 Total ring-fenced specific grants 33,845 45,140 73,339 127,890 134,927 177,608 
			 The private finance initiative — 331 842 885 850 — 
			 Total unring-fenced grants 0 331 842 885 850 0 
			 School standards grant — — — — 17,514 17,975 
			 Revenue support grant 451,972 386,147 389,996 382,868 427,589 385,874 
			 National non-domestic rates 301,690 268,337 292,938 332,884 327,578 359,413 
			 Gross AEF 787,507 699,955 757,115 844,527 908,458 940,870 
			 Percentage of gross AEF ring-fenced % 4 6 10 15 15 19

War Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities count war pensions (a) in full and (b) in part when calculating entitlement to housing benefit or council tax benefit.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	A statutory disregard of £10 is applied to War Disablement Pensions and War Widows Pensions when calculating entitlement to income-related benefits. In the case of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, local authorities have the discretion to apply a further disregard up to the full amount of any War Pension in payment. Any amount on top of the statutory disregard is funded from authorities' own resources.
	Local authorities, through their discretionary schemes, are best placed to determine the needs of their local residents, taking account of local priorities. At the end of March 2003, 387 local authorities were disregarding War Pensions in full and from this month April 2003, six more authorities have given an undertaking to apply a full disregard. A further four authorities apply a disregard in excess of the statutory £10, and have confirmed their intention to make further improvements to their local schemes. The remaining 11 authorities apply the statutory disregard.
	Lists of the authorities which fall into each of these categories have been placed in the Library.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Opium Poppy Cultivation (Afghanistan)

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's assessment is of the change in opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducts an annual survey into the level of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. This reported that the level of cultivation in 2002 was 74,000 hectares. This was higher than the mid-1990s average but below the record level of 1999 (91,000 hectares).
	The UNODC is in the process of carrying out the 2003 survey. Its results will be published in the autumn. In March 2003 the UNODC published an Opium Rapid Assessment Survey for Afghanistan. This gave an early insight into the pattern of opium poppy cultivation for the 2002–03 growing season but did not predict the level of opium poppy cultivation for 2003 or beyond. It did find however that there was a trend for farmers to cultivate opium poppy in increasingly remote and inaccessible areas.

Departmental Annual Report

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the annual report of his Department will be published.

Clare Short: The spring 2003 Departmental Reports are to be published between 28 April and 16 May 2003. We are aiming for publication on 13 May.

Employment Relations Act

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in her Department have taken time off from work in order to attend to domestic incidents as provided for by the Employment Relations Act 1999.

Clare Short: The responsibility for authorising and monitoring such leave is devolved to individual management units and could only be collected at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions the Government have had with the US Administration on the effectiveness of the provision of untied aid for reconstruction in Iraq.

Clare Short: The UK's position on aid untying is well known internationally. The US and other donors are well aware of our position on tied aid.
	International participation in Iraq's reconstruction will be vital. We expect some of the most substantial funding to come with the full involvement of the World bank and the UN. Contracts from these institutions are awarded transparently through competitive international processes.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if her Department will support the development of micro-credit organisations to develop a sustainable economy in post-conflict Iraq.

Clare Short: It is too soon to determine specific areas of UK focus in post-conflict Iraq. We will work with the UN and International Financial Institutions to establish a sustainable post-conflict economy drawing on our experience in Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what role is envisaged for other countries in (a) providing humanitarian aid and (b) providing peacekeeping troops in a post-war Iraq.

Clare Short: It will be important for as many countries as possible to support a UN-led humanitarian effort. Others providing humanitarian assistance include Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
	It is premature to consider the composition of any UN peacekeeping operation for Iraq. For the immediate future the coalition forces will be responsible for security in Iraq under the terms of the Geneva Convention and Hague Regulations.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether there are Oil For Food officials in Umm Qasr; and whether food is being distributed through the Oil for Food Programme in Umm Qasr.

Clare Short: The UN Office of the Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Iraq (UNOHCI) reported last week that 30 Oil for Food distribution agents were still present in Umm Qasr and willing to return to work. The ration card system is also reportedly still in place. The World Food Programme (WFP) plan to try to restart the food distribution system in Umm Qasr shortly.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the US Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance regarding the role of her Department and her Department's officials in the reconstruction of Iraq.

Clare Short: DFID has one secondee in ORHA working on humanitarian issues. My officials will be visiting Kuwait this week for further discussions on ORHA's work, including the coalition's obligation under international humanitarian law to keep the civil administration running.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of ethnic strife between Kurds and Arabs in the north of Iraq.

Clare Short: We are aware of the potential for ethnic strife which is a result of the Government of Iraq's policy of 'Arabisation', which forced many Kurds, Turkomans and Assyrians from their homes in Kirkuk and other towns in the north of Iraq over the past 10 years. The coalition are monitoring the situation closely.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the timescale for the allocation of the money given to her Department by the Treasury for Iraq; and what this money is being spent on.

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list, by sector, her Department's (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral funding of development aid for Iraqi citizens in the current financial year.

Clare Short: Total DFID funds earmarked for humanitarian work in the current crisis are £210 million. £90 million of this is from DFID budgets, and £120 million is from the Treasury Central Reserve. Of this, DFID has committed £115 million to support work by humanitarian agencies in the current crisis and has £95 million set aside for further contributions. In addition, the Chancellor announced on 9 April that he would set aside a further £60 million for DFID to claim from the Treasury if and when needs arise.
	The £115 million was committed as follows:
	£65 million on 28 March to the UN flash appeal;
	£32 million to the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement in March, to fund preparedness and relief activities in Iraq and neighbouring countries;
	£8 million to the World Food Programme (£1 million February, £1 million early March with a further £6 million mid-March) to pre-position and distribute food;
	£2 million to UNICEF (£1 million February, £1 million March), to assist with the pre-positioning and distribution of health kits, water purification units and other supplies;
	£1.75 million to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (£0.75 million February and £1 million March) to aid the supply of winter kits for 350,000, and the procuring of kits for a further 600,000;
	£1 million to the World Health Organisation (£0.5 million February and £0.5 million March) for procuring, positioning and distributing emergency health kits;
	£150,000 in February to Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for the deployment of co-ordination personnel and development of public information;
	£100,000 in February to the United Nations Office of the Security Coordinator (UNSECOORD), to enhance UN security;
	£5 million during March to non-governmental organisations (of which £2.6million has been specially agreed with individual NGOs to date: Save the Children UK £500,000, Merlin £265,000, International Medical Corps £220,000, HelpAge £150,000, GOAL £306,000, BBC World Service Trust £314,000, War Child £613,000 and MedAir £296,000).
	DFID are ready to make further contributions in line with emerging humanitarian needs.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what military strategy is in place to move humanitarian supplies quickly through Iraq.

Clare Short: The UK military is working to establish safe and secure environments in the areas of Iraq it controls. This will allow humanitarian agencies to enter and provide humanitarian assistance where it is needed. It is likely that some areas will be made secure more quickly than others.
	Aid agencies seek to operate within a 'humanitarian space' made secure by the controlling forces rather than being directly escorted by military forces. The latter could be seen to undermine the independence and impartiality the agencies require to gain access to those in need.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the capacity of the hospitals in Baghdad to handle the civilian and military casualties caused by United Kingdom and United States forces.

Clare Short: Baghdad hospitals have considerable capacity and high quality staff. The main immediate requirements of Baghdad's hospitals are for more medical supplies, reliable power/water supplies, and protection from looting.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the Iraqi refugee situation at Mehran, on Iran's western border.

Clare Short: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report that there are an estimated 30,000 newly displaced people at Mehran, on the Iran/Iraq border. They do not appear to be in immediate humanitarian need. We are monitoring the situation closely.

Parental Leave

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in her Department have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive since it came into force.

Clare Short: The responsibility for authorising and monitoring such leave is devolved to individual management units and could only be collected at disproportionate cost.

Press Office

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people are employed in her Department's Press Office; and how many were employed on 2 May 1997.

Clare Short: The information for all years from 1996–97 is as follows:
	
		
			 Year Number of press officers Annual cost(£) 
		
		
			 1996–97 6 195,000 
			 1997–98 6 243,000 
			 1998–99 4 240,000 
			 1999–2000 3.3 100,000 
			 2000–01 4.5 150,000 
			 2001–02 4 148,000 
			 2002–03 5 191,000 
		
	
	For 1996–97 to 1997–98 the figures are taken from the "Government Information and Communications Service" (HC 770) published by the Select Committee on Public Administration (29 July 1998) and include the Head and Deputy Head of Information Department who were not fully employed on press duties but whose costs cannot be disaggregated from the totals. Separate records have not been maintained by DFID for those years.
	From 1999–2000 to 2002–03 the costs include annual salary and pension contributions.
	There are five people employed in the DFID press office. From the information available, as indicated above, there were six people employed on 2 May 1997.

Property Portfolio

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the estimated value is of the Property Portfolio held by her Department.

Clare Short: The general practice in my Department is to rent office accommodation. The only owned property in UK is our East Kilbride office, Abercrombie House. This is 23-years-old and was valued at £3 million in 2002. It is presently undergoing refurbishment following which, Government Appointed Valuers anticipated the potential value would be between £14 and £16 million.

Secondments

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the role of her Department's officials seconded to the Ministry of Defence; and whether they will remain in the Ministry of Defence (a) for the duration of the war in Iraq and (b) to influence the postwar reconstruction of Iraq.

Clare Short: My Department has seconded two humanitarian advisers to the Ministry of Defence to assist UK forces in the provision of humanitarian assistance as part of their obligations under the Geneva Convention and Hague Regulations governing armed conflict. DFID advisors will provide advice for as long as it is necessary for the military to engage in the humanitarian response.
	The UK is committed to humanitarian assistance being provided by civilian agencies wherever possible. The military fully appreciates the need to hand over to humanitarian agencies as soon as the situation allows.

Special Advisers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the salary bill was for special advisers in her Department in 2002–03; and what it is expected to be in 2003–04.

Clare Short: My department has employed two Special Advisers since 1997. The salary cost for the two years requested is as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Year Salary costs 
		
		
			 2002–03 74,220 
			 2003–04 (9)85,141 
		
	
	(9) Estimate

Water Forum (Kyoto)

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action she is taking following commitments made at the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: The provision, use and management of water are central to both sustainable development and poverty reduction. Nearly two thirds of the world's population will be living in countries of significant water stress by the year 2025. If we do not pay more attention to equitable water management we will see conflict and war generated by water shortages. 1.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. The provision of clean drinking water and sanitation is essential to prevent 2 million children dying of diarrhoea every year. Carrying water also exhausts women and keeps girls out of school.
	The UN has designated 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater, acknowledging that global water issues need to be placed high on the international agenda. Global water issues were discussed at the Kyoto World Water Forum in March and will also be discussed at the G8 Summit in Evian in June. The UK made no new commitments at Kyoto. The third World Water Forum and the Kyoto Ministerial Declaration added little to the achievements of WSSD in Johannesburg last year but has reinforced efforts towards ensuring that the international community delivers on its promises made at WSSD.
	I also refer the hon. Member to see my written Statement to Parliament on Water on 28 January 2003 ahead of the World Water Forum in Kyoto in March setting out our view of the key issues in the sector and our approach to addressing them.

Zimbabwe

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the number of people affected by famine in Zimbabwe; what steps her Department is taking to alleviate the problems; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: Zimbabwe continues to suffer from a major humanitarian crisis. Assessments indicate that 6.7 million people (50 per cent. of the population) required food assistance from December 2002 until the next harvest due in May. However, there has been little access to displaced farm workers or to urban areas where there are serious concerns about vulnerability. Early indications are that this year's maize harvest while double last years will still be 40 per cent. less than required.
	DFID, have contributed £51 million to help Zimbabwe since the humanitarian crisis began in mid 2001. We are supporting the World Food Programme, which is now feeding 4.6 million people, while government and NGOs are also supplying food. We have directly funded NGOs that are providing supplementary food to 1.5 million, mostly children, pregnant and nursing women and the elderly. We have supported home care programmes for families affected by HIV/AIDS and have provided seeds and fertilisers to 180,000 households to assist food production.
	The international response has averted a crisis and malnutrition rates have increased only marginally. Adequate supplies of food have been secured until June when the harvest will temporarily improve the situation. However, the disastrous economic policies in Zimbabwe mean that food aid will still be needed particularly for the large numbers of poor who are unable to buy food.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

CFE Treaty

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals have been made by (a) NATO and (b) Russia concerning the Adapted CFE Treaty; what the outstanding issues are; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The NATO position on the Adapted CFE Treaty was set out most recently in the Prague Summit Declaration in November 2002. This emphasised Allies' commitment to the early entry into force of the Adapted Treaty, welcomed the significant results of Russia's efforts to reduce forces in the Treaty's Article V areas to agreed levels, and urged swift fulfilment of the outstanding Istanbul commitments on Georgia and Moldova "which will create the conditions for Allies and other states parties to move forward on ratification".
	In the statement following the NATO-Russia Council at Prague, NATO and Russia agreed to continue to work co-operatively toward ratification by all States Parties and the entry into force of the Adapted Treaty.
	The aim of the UK is for the Adapted Treaty to come into force as soon as possible and, with NATO allies, we continue to urge Russia to resolve the outstanding issues on Georgia and Moldova, in line with the bilateral agreements made at the Istanbul OSCE summit.

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Afghanistan High-Level Strategic Forum held in Brussels on 17 March.

Mike O'Brien: The Afghanistan High-Level Strategic Forum followed on from the Afghanistan Development Forum meeting in Kabul on 13–14 March. Both meetings provided an opportunity to discuss the progress and future vision for state building in Afghanistan, as well as the long-term funding requirements for reconstruction.
	Further information, including a copy of the Chairman's summary from the Brussels meeting, can be obtained from the Afghanistan Transitional Administration's website www.afghanistangov.org/mof.

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the 2003–04 budget proposed by the Transitional Authority in Afghanistan is; how much has been promised; how much has been delivered; and whether there is a funding gap.

Mike O'Brien: At March's Development Forum meeting in Kabul the Afghanistan Transitional Administration presented an overall National Budget totalling US$2.3 billion for 2003–04. We estimate that donor contributions and domestic revenue make up about 90 per cent. of the total requirement.
	Further information can be obtained from the Afghanistan Transitional Administration's website www. afghanistangov.org/mof.

Burma

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received that the regime in Burma is building a nuclear reactor; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The UK understands that Burma is building a civil nuclear research reactor at Kalagok Kyun in Mon State. Burma has acceded to the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear weapon state and the required Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) entered into force in 1995. We understand that the IAEA is aware that Russia is currently helping Burma build these facilities.

Convention on the Future of Europe

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Convention on the Future of Europe is due to complete its work.

Denis MacShane: Following an exchange of views on progress of the discussions at the Convention on the Future of Europe, the Copenhagen European Council concluded that the Convention will present the result of its work in time for the European Council in June 2003.

Cricket (Zimbabwe)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the English Cricket Board on plans by the English cricket team to tour Zimbabwe; when these discussions took place; who was present; what advice his Department gave to the ECB; what the Government's policy is on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: Foreign Office officials are in regular contact with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), but have not as yet discussed the England cricket team's tour of Zimbabwe in November 2004. But much could change in Zimbabwe between now and then. We stand ready to advise the ECB on safety and security issues relating to this tour nearer the time, taking account of all relevant factors, including the future political and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.
	We made it clear ahead of the recent Cricket World Cup that we did not believe that the England team should play in Zimbabwe at that time. There has been no improvement on the ground in Zimbabwe to lead us to change this advice at the current time.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) the US Administration and (b) the French Government on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo; what information he has received on the reported massacre in the Ituri region of the country; what steps he plans to take to support the peace process; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: My Department has regular discussions with their US and French counterparts on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in order to co-ordinate our efforts to promote peace and stability in the Great Lakes region.
	We were shocked to learn of the appalling massacre of civilians by militia in the DRC's Ituri Province last week. My noble Friend the Baroness Amos, issued a statement on 7 April strongly condemning this tragedy and has placed a copy in the Library of the House.
	These killings, as with earlier militia attacks, underline the need to stop this senseless cycle of violence in the region. We call on all parties to stop fighting and join the political process, particularly now that a Transitional Government has just been agreed for the DRC covering the whole country.
	The UK will play its part in supporting the peace process both as an active member of the UN Security Council and the EU, and as a member of the International Support Committee which is tasked with supporting the transitional process in DRC.

Departmental Annual Report

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the annual report of the Department will be published.

Jack Straw: We are aiming to publish the FCO departmental report for 2002–03 on a date to be finalised between 28 April and 16 May 2003.
	We will publish our departmental report within this window, and are aiming for publication on 12 May 2003.

EU Constitution

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the adoption of an EU constitution would first be the subject of a referendum in the UK.

Denis MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne) by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 January 2003, Official Report, column 516W.

Exhibitions

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list events at which his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible have exhibited in each of the last three years, stating for each (a) the purpose of exhibiting, (b) the cost of exhibiting and (c) the number of staff attending for the exhibition.

Denis MacShane: The FCO's attendance at exhibitions in the UK is mainly at careers fairs to increase diversity in recruitment and/or at other events to raise awareness of its consular and other services. Details available for the last three financial years are given in the following table. The British Council also attended five exhibitions in this period to promote its Connect Youth International programme (see table). Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is in line with exemption 9 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
	
		
			 Event Date Staff attending Purpose of exhibiting Cost (£) 
		
		
			  Exhibitions attended by the FCO—financial year 2000–01 
			 Recruitment section 
			  Data for FY 2000–01 available only at disproportionate cost in time available 
			 Consular Directorate  
			 Destinations 2001, London 1–4 February 2001 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 5,522.50 
			 Holiday Show 2001, Birmingham 23–25 February 2002 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 2,146.72 
			 Independent Travellers World Show, Leeds 3–4 March 2001 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 1,985.75 
			 British Council 
			 Directorate of Social Services Charity Fair 2001  2 Promotion of Connect Youth International programme 440.00 
			 Total10,094.97 
			   
			  Exhibitions attended by the FCO—financial year 2002–03 
			 University Careers Fairs
			 Lambeth College 15 May 2002 2 To encourage applications which reflect UK's rich cultural diversity 0.00 
			 Brunel 10 June 2002 2  386.25 
			 South Bank 26 June 2002 2  0.00 
			 Jet Alumni Association 20 September 2002 2  250.00 
			 London Metropolitan 26 September 2002 1  376.00 
			 SOAS 12 November 2002 2  329.00 
			 Middlesex 28 February 2003 3  0.00 
			 Central Lancs (canx) canx fee 0  90.00 
			 Central Lancashire 29 May 2002 2  352.50 
			 Southampton 12 June 2002 2  381.88 
			 Cardiff, Wales 13 June 2002 2  298.13 
			 Exeter 19 June 2002 2  299.00 
			 Edinburgh 19 June 2002 2  346.63 
			 Bath 24 June 2002 2  317.25 
			 Sheffield 22 October 2002 2  934.13 
			 Teeside 1 November 2002 2  75.00 
			 De Montford Leicester 13 November 2002 2  129.25 
			 Coventry 20 November 2002 2  15.00 
			 Swansea 19 February 2003 2  0.00 
			 Umist 12 March 2003 2  0.00 
			 Aberystwyth 19 March 2003 2  293.75 
			 Regional fairs 
			 Windsor Fellowship 26 April 2002 2  0.00 
			 B'ham Diversity Fair 1–2 May 2002 3  1,756.63 
			 Grades Diversity (UCL) 30 May 2002 2  1,169.13 
			 Yorkshire Careers Fair 18 June 2002 2  934.13 
			 London Grad Fair 26–27 June 2002 (10)14  5,625.90 
			 Glasgow 1–2 July 2002 3  2,359.99 
			 Jobscene Belfast 27–28 September 2002 2  2,461.63 
			 Jobscene Birmingham 10–11 October 2002 3  2,408.75 
			 Egrex-London 16–18 October 2002 (10)5  3,454.50 
			 Jobscene Olympia 26–27January 2003 TBC  2,402.88 
			 Grades (Warwick) 7 March 2003 3  1,700.81 
			 Consular Directorate 
			 London Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 4 July 2002 3 Outreach to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender travellers 117.50 
			 Holiday and Travel Show, Manchester 10–12 January 2003 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 5,355.65 
			 Adventure Travel Show, London 10–12 January 2003 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 2,350.00 
			 Destinations 2003 30 January–2 February 2003 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 9,533.95 
			 British Council 
			 Directorate of Social Services Charity Fair  2 Promotion of Connect Youth International programme 1,410.00 
			 Association of Principal Youth and Community Officers  2 Promotion of Connect Youth International programme 375.00 
			 Total48,290.22 
			   
			  Exhibitions attended by the FCO—financial year 2001–02 
			 Recruitment Section 
			 University Careers Fairs 
			 Kensington Town Hall 28–29 August 2001 FCOServicesDepartment To encourage applications which reflect UK's rich cultural diversity 0.00 
			 Surrey 4 October 2001 2  111.63 
			 Queen Mary & Westfield 16 October 2001 2  294.00 
			 Essex 29 October 2001 2  85.90 
			 SOAS 13 November 2001 2  332.00 
			 Middlesex 27 February 2002 2  0.00 
			 Creating Diversity 31 July/1 August 8  7,000.00 
			 Aberdeen 16 May 2001 2  1,548.50 
			 Central Lancashire 06 June 2001 2  293.75 
			 Reading 21 June 2001 2  455.50 
			 Exeter 20 June 2001 2  931.00 
			 Agcas Biennial 4–7 September01 1  500.00 
			 Ethnic Media Group Fair 12–13 September 2001 (10)20  1,462.50 
			 Methodist College, Belfast 14–15 September 2001 2  1,550.00 
			 Jet Alumni Fair 21 September 2001 3  200.00 
			 Swaminarayan Hindu Mission 23 September 2001 2  500.00 
			 Derby 18 October 2001 2  50.00 
			 Keele 6 November 2001 2  203.80 
			 Edinburgh 8 November 2001 2  1,443.00 
			 Dundee & Abertay 14 November 2001 2  962.44 
			 D Montford Leicester 14 November 2001 2  347.30 
			 Cambridge 14 February 2002 1  0.00 
			 UMIST, Manchester 13 March 2002 2  0.00 
			 Lampeter 19 March 2002 2  0.00 
			 Aberystwyth 20 March 2002 2  235.00 
			 Regional Fairs 
			 London Graduate Fair 27–28 June 2001 (10)10  4,708.00 
			 Yorkshire Graduate Fair 19 June 2001 2  662.00 
			 Scottish Graduate Fair 2–3 July 2001 3  5,300.00 
			 Birmingham Graduate Fair 6–7 November 2001 2  4,527.63 
			 Job Scene-Olympia 27–28 January 2002 (10)12  4,506.00 
			 Leicester Ethnic Fair 5 March 2002 2  258.50 
			 FCO Services Section 
			 EXPO 2001 October 2001 3 Raising FCO awareness and selling into wider markets 500.00 
			 Excel Computer Show October 2001 2 Selling into wider markets 5,000.00 
			 Various Recruitment Shows September 2001–January 2003 (11)13 Recruitment 1,850.00 
			 Consular Directorate 
			 Holiday & Travel Show, Glasgow 18–20 January 2002 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 5,211.36 
			 Destinations 2002 31 January–3 February 2002 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 8,605.41 
			 Holiday Show 2002, Birmingham 22–24 February 2002 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 2,146.72 
			 Independent Travellers World Show 22–24 February 2002 3 Disseminating travel advice to public & networking with travel industry 0.00 
			 Adventure Travel Show 11–13 January 2002 3 Part of mini campaign targetting backpackers (12)— 
			 British Council 
			 Directorate of Social Services Charity Fair 2001  2 Promotion of Connect Youth International programme 840.00 
			 Multilingual Conference in Sheffield  2 Promotion of Connect Youth International programme 60.00 
			 Total62,681.94 
		
	
	(10) On shifts
	(11) Total across all events
	(12) Cost cannot be broken down from campaign consultants fee

Information Technology

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's (a) total managed expenditure, (b) total spending on Information Technology and (c) spending on Information Technology as a proportion of its total managed expenditure has been in each financial year since 1997–98.

Bill Rammell: Total managed expenditure, total spending on Information Technology and spending on Information Technology as a proportion of its total managed expenditure for each of the of the last six years was as follows.
	
		
			 Year £ £ Percentage 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,230,729,000 32,882,960 2.67 
			 1998–99 1,261,865,000 41,421,615 3.28 
			 1999–2000 1,393,060,000 42,191,555 3.03 
			 2000–01 1,462,280,000 33,018,372 2.26 
			 2001–02 1,523,487,000 27,582,068 1.81 
			 2002–03 1,730,143,000 69,796,804 4.03 
		
	
	Notes
	1. The managed expenditure totals from 1997–98 to 2000–01 reflect Appropriation Account cash-based figures. Those in 2001–02 and 2002–03 are resource-based and include net capital expenditure. 2001–02 is an outturn figure; 2002–03 represents the Parliamentary Estimate.
	2. During 2002–03, the FCO embarked on a major new MIS and HR programme (Prism).

Iraq

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the US Government about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners.

Bill Rammell: We have made no representations to the US Government about Iraqi nationals in its detention. The US is a State Party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The treatment of persons in its detention is primarily a matter for the US as Detaining Power.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 25 March 2003, Official Report, column 120W, on Iraq, whether he received a copy of (a) the full declaration and (b) the declaration as circulated to non-Security Council members.

Mike O'Brien: Copies of both the full version and the edited version subsequently distributed to other UN Security Council members were provided to us by the United Nations.

Iraq

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on the principle of a US-controlled government in post-war Iraq.

Mike O'Brien: We want to see a phased transfer of authority leading to a new and effective representative Iraqi Government as soon as possible. We will work with the UN and the international community to help the people of Iraq to achieve this aspiration.

Iraq

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas have been issued to Iraqi directors of UK (a) banks and (b) companies to come from Iraq to London on business in the last three years.

Bill Rammell: Our diplomatic post in Iraq has been closed during the last three years. However, Iraqi nationals are permitted to apply for visas, including business visit visas, at any British diplomatic post. Inquiries would therefore, need to be made to all our 164 visa sections to search their records for the last three years in order to obtain the answer to this question. The cost of this would be disproportionate.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 17 March 2003, Official Report, column 550W, on Iraq, what steps he is taking to protect the Kurds of Northern Iraq from an advance by the Turkish army which has mobilised in Northern Iraq.

Mike O'Brien: The Coalition is working for peace and stability throughout Iraq. We and the US maintain regular contact with the Turkish Government and Kurdish leaders, including a meeting between, my right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary and the Turkish Foreign Minister, Gul, in the margins of the European Council on 21 March. In addition British officials hold ongoing discussions with the principal Turkish parties in Turkey.

Iraq

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Iraqi organisations will be invited by Major General Robin Brims to the Southern Iraq regional conference on the post-conflict administration and reconstruction; and which of these are women's organisations.

Mike O'Brien: Major General Brims has no plans to organise a conference in Southern Iraq. However, the coalition are considering organising a conference in Southern Iraq to discuss post-conflict issues. The invitation list has not yet been set. We expect a wide range of representatives of internal and external Iraqi groups to be present.

Middle East

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on information he has received on (a) the number of homes which have been destroyed and (b) how much land has been used as a result of the construction by Israel of the separation fence in the West Bank.

Mike O'Brien: Construction of the fence has only recently begun. The Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON) estimated in March 2003 that 100 buildings, most of them used as stores, had been demolished as a result of fence construction. When completed the fence is expected to be 360km long. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv and our Consulate in Jerusalem who have travelled to Palestinian areas affected by construction of the fence have reported that a corridor up to 40 metres wide in places has been cleared for the fence's path.
	The proposed path of the fence, as described in the Israeli media, would run east of the Green Line for most of its length. Approximately 10 per cent. of the entire West Bank would lie to the west of the fence. Palestinian land is being seized for fence construction, cultivated farmland is being destroyed and some towns will be separated from surrounding farmland by the fence. Current estimates indicate the northern and Jerusalem sections of the fence, approximately 215km long, will leave 290,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side of the fence. Of those, some 70,000 do not have Israeli residency permits and, as a consequence, may feel it necessary to move east of the fence in order to retain access to basic services.
	Our view is that, the building of the fence, and the adverse impact it will have on Palestinians living in the West Bank, is unacceptable. We have made our opposition known to the Israeli Government.

Middle East

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the Palestinians that the Government have accepted may have been killed illegally by the Israeli policy of targeted assassinations since 29 September 2000.

Mike O'Brien: The Government do not keep a list in the form requested. But to assist I can say that B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, has made allegations that 98 Palestinians have been assassinated by the Israel Defence Forces between 29 September 2000 and 6 April 2003. A further 45 Palestinians who had no known affiliation to any militant group were also killed in these operations. B'Tselem's website (www.btselem.orR) gives further details of the Palestinians killed. Since 6 April there have been two further targeted killings carried out by the IDF resulting in the deaths of eight Palestinians, including at least four civilians.

Market Testing

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the estimated level of saving to the Department is from the use of market testing in 2002–03.

Bill Rammell: No services were market tested in 2002–03.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial resources have been allocated to ensure the internal security of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Mike O'Brien: The Governor has overall responsibility for internal security, but budgetary provision for this rests with the Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG). The Governor delegates day to day operations to TCIG Ministries and law enforcement agencies. Fifteen new police officers have been deployed in the last few weeks. Capacity has been enhanced, with two new police vehicles and upgraded equipment for the police plane.

Council of Ministers Building

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the bugging of the UK Mission in the Justus Lipsius Council of Ministers building.

Denis MacShane: The Government was informed of the discovery of a number of devices in the Justus Lipsius building at a very early stage, and we have been kept fully informed. The bugging operation is a matter of serious concern. The EU Council Secretariat, which is responsible for security in the building, is conducting an investigation. We are co-operating closely with them.

Ministerial Meetings (United States Death Penalty)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates Ministers in his Department have held meetings with members and officials of the United States administration since 8 June 2001 to discuss the use of the death penalty in the United States of America; where each meeting took place; which Ministers were involved in each meeting; which United States administration departments attended each meeting; and which members and officials from the United States administration attended each of these meetings.

Bill Rammell: The British Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, and makes clear its position to the US Government at every appropriate opportunity. We do this not only in terms of general policy, but also on specific cases. We have also joined EU partners on regular demarches over the last two years on specific cases at State and Federal level.
	The information needed to answer the detail of the hon. Member's question is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum Seekers

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had with (a) local authorities and (b) other organisations on the involvement of local authorities in providing non-cash support, with particular reference to (i) educational and (ii) child welfare support, to asylum seekers detained within their region; and if he will take steps to permit local authorities to provide support to people subject to immigration control.

Beverley Hughes: Asylum seekers are not detained within regions. Generally speaking those detained under immigration powers are housed in removal centres. Destitute asylum seekers requesting that accommodation be provided will, as a matter of policy, be dispersed to designated areas.
	It is Government policy that children of compulsory school age here as part of an asylum seeking family should receive education. This policy applies to all asylum seekers irrespective of whether they are in receipt of support.
	The Children Act 1989 applies to all children in England and Wales irrespective of their immigration status. Within Scotland the relevant legislation is the Children Act (Scotland) 1995—which is similar but not identical to the Children Act 1989 which applies in England and Wales.
	Section 54 and schedule 3 of the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 makes it clear that failed asylum seekers, EEA nationals based in other European countries and illegal entrants cannot claim benefits, including local authority support, unless they satisfy certain criteria. Children, but not their parents, are exempt from this provision.

Asylum Seekers

George Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions have taken place on the Asylum Seekers Dispersal Programme (a) by his Department and (b) by NASS with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Beverley Hughes: Stoke-on-Trent is one of the eight local authorities in the West Midlands which form the West Midlands Consortium and which provide accommodation under contract to the National Asylum Support Service (NASS). Discussions between NASS and the West Midlands Consortium took place on 20 January 2003 and 28 February 2003.

Asylum Seekers

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers from Iraq in each of the last three years (a) have had their applications refused and exhausted all their appeal options, (b) have left the UK, (c) are receiving hard cases support and (d) are receiving no support; and if he will make a statement on Government policy concerning future support of failed asylum seekers from Iraq.

Beverley Hughes: Information on asylum applications, initial decisions and appeals is published quarterly on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	Information is not available on the numbers of asylum seekers in each of the last three years who have had their applications refused and exhausted all their appeal options, and could only be produced at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case files.
	The latest available data on removals of Iraqi nationals who have sought asylum at some stage are given in the table.
	
		Removals and voluntary departures of Iraqi principal asylum applicants, excluding dependants(13),(14)
		
			  
		
		
			  
			 January to September 2002(15) 135 
			 2001(15),(16) 125 
			 2000 (17)— 
		
	
	(13) Includes persons departing "voluntarily" after enforcement action has been initiated against them, persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration, and removals on safe third country grounds.
	(14) Data have been estimated due to data quality issues.
	(15) Provisional data.
	(16) Figure may include a small number of dependants leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes.
	(17) Not available.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to nearest five.
	Information on those asylum applicants who leave the country without informing the Home Office is not available.
	Information on the number of Iraqis in receipt of hard case support could only be obtained by examination of individual case files. We do not have figures on the number of failed asylum seekers from Iraq remaining in the UK without support.
	The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (the 1999 Act) and the Asylum Support Regulations require that, with the exception of families including children under the age of 18, support for failed asylum seekers must be terminated 21 days after the receipt of the final decision on the asylum claim. Failed asylum seekers who are unable to leave the UK immediately through no fault of their own and who have no other avenue of support can apply for the provision of accommodation under section 4.

Chemical or Biological Attacks

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers (a) police officers and (b) firemen have to require decontamination of members of the public in the event of chemical or biological attack in the UK.

David Blunkett: The police have powers under Public Order legislation and common law to preserve the peace and prevent crime and will take whatever action may be necessary to control the scene of an emergency in the interests of public safety. In appropriate circumstances public health legislation may also be used to protect the public. As part of preparations for the Civil Contingencies Bill, we are currently examining whether further to strengthen those powers to enhance protection of the public.

Children's Holiday Clubs

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safety checks are required by British holiday companies which run holiday clubs for children (a) abroad and (b) in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: I have been asked to reply.
	British holiday companies which run holiday clubs for children abroad are required to conform to the particular health and safety requirements of that country. Holiday companies which run holiday clubs for children in the UK must ensure that the children and staff are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. This includes a duty to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to their health and safety.
	Section 3 of the HSW Act 1974 requires that every employer and self-employed person conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.

Entertainment Expenditure

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the total spending of his Department on entertainment in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: Home Office expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety based on the principles set out in Government Accounting.
	The following figures relate to the cost of entertaining non-civil servants (hospitality) and civil servants (management entertainment). Details of such expenditure are only held centrally for financial years 1997–98, to 2001–02. The figures for 2002–03 are forecasts.
	The increase in expenditure from 1999–2000 is due to an element of incorrect expenditure coding, resulting coding, resulting in the inclusion of accommodation and subsistence costs. It is not possible, without disproportionate cost to separate these costs, and consequently these figures are not directly comparable with those provided in previous years.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1997–98 37,747 
			 1998–99 44,415 
			 1999–2000 94,370 
			 2000–01 108,925 
			 2001–02 75,808 
			 2002–03 51,440

Immigration and Asylum

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances a person granted (a) humanitarian protection and (b) discretionary leave to remain will be able to be joined in the UK by a spouse or dependent children.

Beverley Hughes: A spouse or dependent child will normally be allowed to join a person who has been granted limited leave under either the humanitarian protection or discretionary leave policies, only once they have been granted indefinite leave to remain, or settlement, in the United Kingdom. A person will not be eligible to apply for settlement until they have three years humanitarian protection or six years discretionary leave (more for people who are considered to be of bad character or conduct).

Immigration and Asylum

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to give access to benefits to failed single asylum seekers who cannot be removed from the UK.

Beverley Hughes: It is not Government policy to give access to mainstream benefits to those failed single asylum seekers who cannot currently be removed from the United Kingdom. We have always recognised that in some cases failed asylum seekers will be unable to leave the United Kingdom immediately through no fault of their own. In such circumstances the person can apply for accommodation to be provided under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Where accommodation is provided it is on a full board basis.

TREASURY

National Insurance

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what point married women who paid reduced national insurance contributions and were out of the labour market for more than two years began to be treated as full rate contributors.

Dawn Primarolo: The test described, known as the two-year test, was introduced on 6 April 1978.

National Insurance

Michael Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 27 March 2003, Official Report, column 333W, to the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on National Insurance, if he will place the representations in the Library; and if he will publish a document summarising the attitude of business towards the increase in National Insurance contributions.

Dawn Primarolo: I have nothing further to add to my answer of 27 March. There are no plans to publish a document of the type requested.

Tax Credits

Iris Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria childminders must fulfil in order that their clients may claim children's tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: The child care element of the Working Tax Credit is available for safe, secure, good quality childcare which is approved or regulated. That is why childminders must be registered with the appropriate regulating authorities. Each regulating authority decides on the criteria and standards childminders should reach before they can be registered. For England, the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) registers childminders against the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding. In Scotland, the regulating authority is the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care. In Wales, it is the Care Standard's Inspectorate for Wales and in Northern Ireland it is the local Health and Social Services Trust.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many hon. Members are drawing the Working Families Tax Credit.

Dawn Primarolo: Working Families' Tax Credit has been replaced by the new Working and Child Tax Credits. Nine out of 10 families with children will be eligible for the Child Tax Credit.

Tax Credits

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the progress being made to ensure that all recipients who are eligible for child tax credit are able to receive it.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue has written directly to claimants of Working Families', Disabled Person's and children's tax credits, inviting claims for the new tax credits, and followed that with up to four reminders. Employees receiving Children's Tax Credit through their PAYE codes received a special insert with their 2003–04 coding notices, and there is a prominent reference to the new tax credits in the uprating letter going to all seven million Child Benefit recipients. These direct contacts are being supported by a high-profile publicity campaign on television, in the press, on radio and online—aimed at everyone entitled to the new tax credits.
	Child Tax Credit is paid directly to the person in the family mainly responsible for looking after the children. Claimants can choose to receive it weekly or 4-weekly. The first payments are being made this week—the first week of the tax year.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families with children are expected to be ineligible for the child tax credit because their earnings are too high.

Dawn Primarolo: Nine out of ten families are expected to be eligible for Child Tax Credit. Therefore it is estimated that 10 per cent. of families with children have annual household income that is too high for them to receive the Child Tax Credit.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of claimants for the new tax credits have opted for payment by girobook.

Dawn Primarolo: The new tax credits are paid either directly by the Inland Revenue, or by the employer—with wages. The Inland Revenue aims to make any direct payments of tax credits into a bank account but, where suitable banking facilities are not available, tax credits are paid by girocheque.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many allegations of improper use of the childcare tax credit have been communicated to the Inland Revenue's Childminder's hotline; and how many of these have led to (a) an investigation for fraud, (b) a penalty for fraud, (c) a successful prosecution for fraud and (d) a custodial sentence on grounds of fraud.

Dawn Primarolo: The child care element is only one component of both Working Families' Tax Credit (WFTC) and Disabled Person's Tax Credit (DPTC). An enquiry into a WFTC/DPTC award may involve more than one element of non-compliance.
	The Inland Revenue have received over 2100 allegations of non-compliant applications for childcare tax credit. It is not possible to provide the additional
	information requested.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims for the working families tax credit have (a) been identified as being appropriate for further investigation because of the possibility of fraud, (b) been investigated for fraud, (c) proved to be partially or wholly fraudulent, (d) led to a penalty because of fraud, (e) resulted in a successful prosecution for fraud and (f) led to a custodial sentence on the grounds of fraud in each year since the credit began.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue undertake investigations into tax credit claims where there are grounds for believing that the claim may not be compliant; non-compliance may cover a range of circumstances including error, negligence or fraud. On that basis, the information is as follows:
	
		
			  1999–2000(6 months) 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Cases identified for investigation (a) (1) 14,162 (1) 28,898 (1) 23,123 (1) 28,026 
			  (2) 251 (2) 808 (2) 824 (2) 625 
			 Cases investigated (b) (1) 4,022 (1) 30,543 (1) 21,816 (1) 26,880 
			  (2) 110 (2) 644 (2) 801 (2) 625 
			 Cases found to be non-compliant (c) 250 5,213 8,108 13,794 
			 Penalties imposed (d) 3 (1) 235 (1) 512 (1) 1,232 
			  (2) 0 (2) 2 (2) 12 (2) 26 
			 Successful Prosecutions (e) (1) 0 (1) 2 (1) 29 (1) 34 
			  (2) 0 (2) 0 (2) 0 (2) 1 
			 Custodial Sentences (f) (2) 0 (2) 0 (2) 0 (2) 0 
		
	
	Note:
	In relation to each category (a)—(f) above, the upper line shows the figures for Working Families' Tax Credit and the lower line the figures for Disabled Pension's Tax Credit.
	Awards selected for inquiry with applicant in the period
	Inquiries completed in the period
	Separate figures are not available for WFTC and DPTC
	Penalties imposed in the period
	Prosecutions completed in each period (including prosecutions of serving members of the Inland Revenue)
	Custodial sentences given

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 5 March 2003, Official Report, column 1065W, on working families tax credit, how many families in receipt of the working families tax credit received it via their employer immediately prior to the phasing out of this option in August 2002.

Dawn Primarolo: There were 890,000 recipients of WFTC or DPTC at 26 August 2002 who had their award paid, or were due to have their award paid, via their employers.

Tax Credits

Bill Tynan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the average length of time taken by the Inland Revenue to process each application for (a) Children's Tax Credit and (b) Working Tax Credit has been since 1 October 2002;
	(2)  how long it takes on average from receipt of application to determination of application for (a) Child Tax Credit and (b) Working Tax Credit; and how many application forms in each case have had to be returned because of incompletion.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 8 April 2003
	Claims for the two new tax credits—Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit—are processed as quickly as possible. A meaningful average of the time taken to reach a decision on the claim is not available, because the new tax credits have only just been introduced. Preparations over the last few months, starting with the invitation to make claims, have been designed to support the aim of setting up awards in time for payment in April, wherever possible. Where claims are incomplete, the Inland Revenue attempts to contact claimants for the missing details. Claim forms themselves are not normally returned.

Tax Credits

Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking to overcome delays in processing claims for the working tax credit and children's tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: From 6 April 2003, the children's tax credit is replaced by child tax credit. Claims to child tax credit and working tax credit are being processed as quickly as possible, with the aim of getting awards set up in time for first payments in April. Inland Revenue began making payments this week—the first week of the tax year.

Tax Credits

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications the Inland Revenue has received for (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit; how many applications for (i) child tax credit and (ii) working tax credit have been determined.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 8 April 2003
	Claims for child tax credit and working tax credit are made at the same time, using one form. There is a single calculation to arrive at the amount of tax credits payable. By 9 April the Inland Revenue had received over 3.9 million claims. Claims are being processed to ensure that wherever possible a decision to pay is taken in time for payment of any tax credits in April.

Tax Credits

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are involved in processing applications for Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit; and what changes to the number of staff have been made to reflect demand.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 8 April 2003
	The introduction of the Child Tax Credit and the Working Tax Credit represents a large one-off piece of work for the Inland Revenue. That work includes handling telephone inquiries and processing claims, and it involves several thousand staff. As a one-off exercise, call handling and claims processing are effectively being managed as a single stream of work—allowing resources to be allocated across the two in the light of changing workload priorities. The balance between answering calls and processing claims is kept under constant review. In response to recent increased demand, resources have been switched to answering calls.

Tax Credits

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people entitled to the (a) working tax credit and (b) child tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 8 April 2003
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) on 17 December 2002, Official Report, column 733W.

Tax Credits

Roger Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects that the Inland Revenue will be in a position to make available to employers the information necessary to enable them to process employees' entitlement to the (a) Child Tax Credits and (b) Working Family's Tax Credits due from the start of the new financial year.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 9 April 2003
	From 6 April 2003 two new tax credits—Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit—were introduced to succeed the existing tax credits including Working Families' Tax Credit. The Child Tax Credit and the child care element of Working Tax Credit are paid directly to the person in the family mainly responsible for looking after the children. Employers are not involved in making these payments. The Working Tax Credit is paid to employees with their wages, but decisions on entitlement are made by the Inland Revenue. The Department has already begun notifying employers of the amount of tax credits to be paid to employees entitled to Working Tax Credit.

Tax Credits

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many applications for working families tax credit were processed (a) within one month, (b) within two months, (c) within three months, (d) within six months and (e) in more than six months from the time each application was made, in each year since it was introduced; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average length of time was for an application for working families tax credit to be processed, in each year since it was introduced; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 11 April 2003
	The available statistics on the length of time to process applications for working families' tax credit are shown in The Board of Inland Revenue Annual Reports for each year (for 1999–2000, on page 100; for 2000–01, on page 113; for 2001–02 on page 124).

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to which passported benefits recipients of the different tax credits are entitled; and what other conditions for receipt apply in each case.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 11 April 2003
	There are a wide number of other benefits that claimants may be able to access if they are getting tax credits. Eligibility for those benefits depends not only on the type of tax credit award they have and their income but also on satisfying the relevant additional entitlement criteria. Those criteria are set by the Departments responsible for the benefits in question.
	To help claimants understand what they may be entitled to, the Revenue will shortly be publishing a leaflet on their website with information on the main additional benefits available and contact details to help claimants find out more about entitlement to particular benefits. I would be happy to provide a copy to the Library as soon as it is available in paper form.

Tax Credits

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parents in Hendon are estimated to be entitled to children's tax credit; how many are claiming children's tax credit; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: 700,000 families with children in London are expected to receive the child tax credit.

Capital Gains Tax

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on (a) the liability of public benefit corporations to capital gains tax and (b) the circumstances in which they will pay capital gains tax.

Dawn Primarolo: Subject to parliamentary approval, NHS foundation trusts will be established as public benefit corporations authorised under the provisions set out in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill. We are currently considering the detail of their tax treatment.

Census Records

John Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  which of the post-1920 decennial population census records for England and Wales are stored in the Central Repository at Hayes, Middlesex; and how much shelf space each of them occupies;
	(2)  whether post-1920 census record services will be relocated to the Midlands within the next two years;
	(3)  what plans he has to (a) digitise and (b) micro-film post-1920 census records.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. John Taylor, dated 14 April 2003
	The Registrar General for England and Wales has been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary questions on post-1920 Census records. I am replying in his absence. (10532, 10534,108550)
	Under present legislation the 1921 Census returns will become open to public inspection on the first working day of 2022. The Office for National Statistics and the National Archives (Public Record Office) will work together on plans to make these returns available to the public nearer the time, in the light of the available technological options. The long-term plans for methods of storing Census records will be the responsibility of the National Archives once the forms are transferred to their custody.
	None of the post 1920 Census records are currently digitised or microfilmed except for those for 2001. For this Census the forms were scanned and digitised by the Office for National Statistics as part of the processing of the results. The 2001 Census records have been microfilmed and the paper copies destroyed.
	All of the extant post-1920 Census decennial population census records for England and Wales remain in our keeping, and none are stored at the Central Repository. There are no plans to relocate census records to the Midlands.

Children's Tax Credit

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parents in Buckingham are estimated to be entitled to children's tax credit; how many are claiming children's tax credit; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: It is estimated that 670,000 families in the south east are expected to receive the child tax credit.

Departmental Accommodation

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the building at 1 Horse Guards Road is wholly owned by HM Treasury; what his estimate is of the value of recent refurbishment work; what his latest estimate is of the market value of this building; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 8 April 2003
	1 Horse Guards Road (1HGR), is a Crown freehold. During the 35 year PFI concession, a head lease has been granted to Exchequer Partnership for the building with an under lease back to the Treasury. At the end of the concession, the leases automatically terminate at no cost to the public sector. The total costs of the refurbishment for 1HGR were given in answer to the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Mr. Bacon) on 5 February 2002, Official Report, column 841W. The Treasury has been advised that the current open market value of 1 HGR is £71.6 million.

Enterprise Areas

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of UK housing stock will benefit from stamp duty exemption in enterprise areas.

John Healey: The relief from stamp duty in disadvantaged areas has already benefited thousands of house-buyers and businesses since it was introduced on 30 November 2001 for all properties where the consideration does not exceed £150,000. The Inland Revenue estimates that around 4 per cent. of all transactions in UK residential property had claimed this relief in the period between implementation of the relief and 31 January 2003.

EU Tariffs

Richard Bacon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the total revenue raised from EU tariffs in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) exporting country from outside the EU and (b) EU importing country.

John Healey: EU member states operate a common tariff regime applicable, at the external frontier, to imports into the union. No tariffs apply to trade between member states. The revenue from tariffs (customs and agricultural duties) accrues to the EU budget.
	Details of the total such revenue collected, broken down by importing member state, are published by the Treasury in "European Community Finances". The latest net figures (after deduction of 10 per cent. for collection costs) may be found in the statement on the 2002 EC Budget, July 2002, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House (CM 5547). Details of the total tariff revenue broken down by exporting country outside the EU are not available as such data is not collated or published in the format requested.

Euro

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Treasury's assessment of the five economic tests will begin; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Government is committed to publishing a comprehensive and rigorous assessment of the five tests within two years of the start of this Parliament. The Government's preliminary and technical analysis supporting the five tests assessment and comprising 18 supporting studies will be published alongside the assessment.
	Departments and other government bodies, including the DTI and the Office of Science and Technology, received training and guidance on the Phase 1 basis of budgeting from the Treasury during 1999 and 2000 in the lead up to Spending Review 2000. Departments were responsible for informing entities within their departmental boundaries such as Research Councils. All departmental budget baselines were converted onto the new basis as part of the Spending Review process to ensure that departments did not benefit or suffer from this transition, hence no additional funding was required.

Gratuities (Armed Forces)

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to tax the gratuity a member of Her Majesty's armed forces receives when leaving the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 19 March 2003, Official Report, column 760W.

Incomes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people had income between (a) £4,616 and £6,535, (b) £6,536 and £30,420, (c) £30,421 and £34,515, (d) above £30,420 and (e) above £34,515 in (i) 2001–02 and (ii) 2002–03.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 11 April 2003
	Estimates for the number of taxpayers by income range are given in the following table.
	
		Numbers in thousand
		
			 Number of taxpayers by range oftotal income 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 £4,615-£6,535 2,300 2,200 
			 £6,536-£30,420 22,300 22,500 
			 £0,421-£34,515 1,200 1,300 
			 £30,420+ 4,300 4,700 
			 £34,515+ 3,200 3,400 
		
	
	These estimates are based upon the 2000–01 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with the Budget 2003.

Incomes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who will have income between (a) £4,616 and £6,575, (b) £6,576 and £30,940, (c) £30,941 and £35,115, (d) above £30,940 and (e) above £35,115 in (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 11 April 2003
	Estimates for the number of taxpayers by income range are given in the following table.
	
		Numbers in thousands
		
			 Number of taxpayers by range oftotal income(£) 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 4,616–6,575 2,400 2,100 
			 6,576–30,940 23,300 23,700 
			 30,941–35,115 1,300 1,400 
			 30,940 + 5,000 5,600 
			 35,115 + 3,700 4,200 
		
	
	These estimates are based upon the 2000–01 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with the Budget 2003.

Iraq and Afghanistan

Michael Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contingency plans he has made for funding an ongoing commitment of British forces in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan.

Paul Boateng: The information is as follows:
	Iraq
	The Chancellor has set aside a total of £3 billion for the military campaign in Iraq to be drawn on by the Ministry of Defence as necessary. This is to cover the costs arising from the current military operation and the immediate humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people that MOD will provide.
	Afghanistan
	The UK Military forces continue to operate in Afghanistan but at a much lower level than during the period of the overthrow of the Taliban and the successful establishment of the International Security Assistance Force. Funding for such operations in 2003–04 will be provided from the Reserve once the sums have been finalised.

Liability Insurance

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had regarding compulsory liability insurance with (a) the insurance industry, (b) British business representatives and (c) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Ruth Kelly: Officials from HM Treasury and other Government departments have meetings with a wide range of representative groups on matters related to liability for environmental damage, including in relation to insurance issues.

Pensions

Vera Baird: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether figures to show the take-up of stakeholder pensions will be broken down by (a) age and (b) gender;
	(2)  when the Inland Revenue will publish figures to show the take up of Stakeholder Pension schemes (a) within the target group of people earning £10,000 to £20,000 salaries and (b) within other groups.

Ruth Kelly: The Inland Revenue has now received data on individuals contributing to Stakeholder Pensions in 2001–02 from providers. This data is currently being analysed and it is hoped that a breakdown by earnings, age and gender and other characteristics will be available by the middle of this year.

Pensions

Michael Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions officials from his Department have had with representatives of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development regarding the pensions funding gap; and if he will make a statement on the OECD report, Financial Market Trends No. 84.

Ruth Kelly: Treasury officials discuss a range of issues of mutual interest with the OECD from time to time. Articles in Financial Market Trends reflect the views of the OECD secretariat.

Public Sector IT

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates total central government spending on public sector IT will be over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: It is not possible to estimate central government spending on IT over the next five years. Departmental allocations have only been set up to 2005–06.
	However, we estimate that around £6 billion from within departmental expenditure limits will be spent on improving public services through Information and Communications Technology over the three years to 2005–06.

Resource Accounting and Budgeting

Ian Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when his Department first informed (a) the DTI, (b) the Office of Science and Technology and (c) each research council that the introduction of phase 1 of Resource Accounting and Budgeting was to be backdated to before 2001–02; what guidance was issued to each of the above on the timing of its application, and when; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much was provided by his Department to (a) the Natural Environment Research Council, (b) the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and (c) the Medical Research Council to ameliorate the impact of the retrospective application of phase 1 of Resource Accounting and Budgeting; when such funding was provided; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: The overall timetable for the implementation of Resource Accounting and Budgeting was set out in the 1995 White Paper "Better Accounting for Taxpayers Money". This announced that Resource Budgeting would take place from 2000. The 2000 Spending Review introduced Phase 1 of Resource Budgeting, which became the sole method of reporting and control for departments' budgets with effect from 1 April 2001. Prior to that, accounts and budgets were controlled on a cash basis.

Small Companies Tax Relief

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many married couples' associated companies were affected in (a) 1996, (b) 1999 and (c) 2002 by the status of small companies tax relief introduced under the Finance Act 1972.

Ruth Kelly: There are many ways in which companies are regarded as being under common control and it is not possible to identify those companies that are associated only because they are under the control of spouses.

Small Companies Tax Relief

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the status of married couples' associated companies in terms of small companies tax relief introduced under the Finance Act 1972.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government have received very few representations that companies under the control of spouses should be treated independently for tax
	purposes.

Staff Union Duties

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in 2002.

Ruth Kelly: The information relating to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments is set out in the table.
	
		
			 Department Number of staff with agreement to receive paid leave for union duties Number of days allocated in 2002–03 Cost to public fundsin 2002–03 (£) 
		
		
			 Debt Management Office(18) 0 0 0 
			 Office of Government Commerce 8 56(19) 42,293 
			 OGCbuying.solutions 21 74(20) 7,350 
			 HM Treasury 12 515 61,000 
			 HM Customs and Excise 250 17,600 2,500,000 
			 Inland Revenue 228 51,300(21) 5,449,201 
			 National Savings and Investments 2 25 225 
			 Royal Mint(22) 1 4 296 
			 Government Actuary's Department 6 49 44,845 
			 Valuation Office Agency 208 3,260 196,482 
			 Office for National Statistics 11 827 85,000 
		
	
	(18) The Debt Management Office has no formal agreement in place for paid leave to undertake union duties and there was no cost to DMO in this respect in 2002–03.
	(19) Each individual is allocated up to 56 days per working year for union duties. This is a notional number of days based on the average working year of 225 days. Staff may take up to 25 per cent. of the working year to undertake union duties. No instances have been recorded where this allocation has been exceeded. The average number of working days in the year is 225. This takes account of annual leave, privilege days, bank holidays and weekends.
	(20) Total number of days allocated.
	(21) Data from the Inland Revenue is for 2001–02, the last financial year for which this information is available.
	(22) There is no cost to public funds from paid trade union activities at the Royal Mint since it is an Executive Agency and Trading Fund, which is not in receipt of "vote" funding. The Royal Mint is a net contributor to HM Treasury.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families are in receipt of the enhanced children's tax credit which is paid in the year of a child's birth.

Dawn Primarolo: There are several methods of applying for the baby rate of the 2002–03 Children's Tax Credit. These include claims to have 2002–03 PAYE codes adjusted, claims via the 2002–03 self assessment tax return and separate claims for tax repayments. About 150 thousand families had adjustments to their 2002–03 PAYE codes that included a claim for the baby rate.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many combined claim forms for the child and working tax credits have been (a) issued and (b) returned.

Dawn Primarolo: By 9 April 2003 about 6.8 million claims forms had been issued and over 3.9 million claims received (including about 485,000 on-line).

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many awards for the (a) Child Tax Credit and (b) Working Tax Credit have been paid.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) on 19 March 2003, Official Report, column 760W.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many child and working tax credit application reminder notices were issued in each of the last six months.

Dawn Primarolo: 3.6 million reminders to claim were sent out in November 2002, 2.2 million in February 2003 and 2.2 million in March 2003.

Tax Credits

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people he estimates in Suffolk are eligible for (a) the Child Tax Credit and (b) the Working Tax Credit; and how many people he estimates will take up these credits in 2003–04.

Dawn Primarolo: It is estimated that (a) 460,000 families are expected to receive the Child Tax Credit and (b) 90,000 families are expected to receive the Working Tax Credit in the Eastern region in 2003–04.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit application forms have been sent out and how many completed application forms have been received, broken down by month.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 1 April 2003
	The cumulative monthly figures to the end of February 2003 are as follows.
	
		Child tax credit and Working tax credit: claim forms issued and claims received—cumulative monthly figures -- Thousands
		
			 Month(23) Claim forms issued Claims received(24) 
		
		
			 August 2002 500 <50(25) 
			 September 2002 2,300 300(25) 
			 October 2002 4,000 1,100(25) 
			 November 2002 4,500 1,400(25) 
			 December 2002 4,700 2,000(25) 
			 January 2003 5,100 2,600(25) 
			 February 2003 5,500 3,200 
		
	
	(23) Final Friday in month.
	(24) Including on-line.
	(25) Estimated.
	Note:
	All figures are quoted to the nearest 100,000.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families (a) were entitled to and (b) received the children's tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: For the number of benefiting families, I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 5.11 of the April 2002 Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report. HC 592.
	There are several methods of applying for this tax credit, including claims to have PAYE codes adjusted, claims via the self assessment tax return and separate claims for tax repayments.
	For 2001–02, about 3.3 million families claimed via adjustments to their PAYE codes; the equivalent figure for 2002–03 was about 3.5 million.

Tax Revenues

Michael Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was received in (a) income tax and (b) corporation tax from companies based in the City of London in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on income tax and corporation tax receipts for companies, based in a particular area of the UK, is not available.

Websites

Tim Yeo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the (a) cost of and (b) number of visitors to each website operated by his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible in each year since its establishment.

Ruth Kelly: The costs and number of visitors to each website operated by each Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which the Chancellor of the Exchequer is as follows:
	
		
			 Department Site address Costs (£) Visits 
		
		
			 HM Customs and Excise www.hmce.gov.uk 388,577 2,715,850 
			 HM Customs and Excise www.uktradeinfo.com 284,000 439,693 
			 HM Customs and Excise www.hmce-recruitment.org.uk/ 4,970 No figures. Site closed March 2003 
			 HM Treasury http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ 140,634 excluding staff costs, yearending 31 January 2002 18 million year ending 31 January2002 
			 Inland Revenue www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/ 247,000 45,575,672 
			 Government Actuary's Department www.gad.gov.uk 18,400 246,000 
			 Royal Mint www.royalmint.com/ 86,251 952,953 
			 National Savings and Investments www.nsandi.com 165,000 estimated cost (excludingSBS payments) (3) 12.6 million since July 2002 
			 Office for National Statistics www.statistics.gov.uk/ 672,542 2,675,833 since July 2002 
			 Debt Management Office www.dmo.gov.ukwww.pwlb.gov.ukwww.crnd.gov.uk 63,000 (estimated) 91,255 projected visitors 
			 Office of Government Commerce www.ogc.gov.uk 
			 www.sds.ogc.gov.uk  
			 www.gps.ogc.gov.uk 
			 www.cot.ogc.gov.uk 
			 www.pfi.ogc.gov.uk 
			 www.supplyinggovernment.gov.uk 397,145 (26)244,560 (estimated visitors)  
			 Office of Government BuyingSolutions www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk  
			 www.gcat.gov.uk  
			 www.scat.gov.uk  
			 www.watermark.qov.uk 87,376 (27)298,527 
			 Valuation Office www.voa.gov.uk/ 95,332 698,000 projected visitors 
		
	
	(26) Office of Government Commerce (OGC) (1) figures for visitors are estimated on the basis of available data because OGC have no facility to accurately measure discrete visits to publicly accessible websites due to the use of security firewalls and proxy servers that disguise the identity of individual computers connecting to a website. (2) Visitor data is unavailable for some of OGCs websites prior to June/July 2002.
	(27) Office of Government Buying Solutions visitor data is unavailable for some of OGCbuying.solutions websites prior to May 2002.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Parental Leave Directive

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many staff in his Department have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive since it came into force.

Stephen Twigg: Ten members of staff in the Department for Education and Skills have taken leave under the provisions of the Parental Leave Directive since its introduction. The Department welcomed the provision as supporting its commitment to family-friendly policies and helping its employees to achieve a better balance between work and home life, thus improving the recruitment, retention and motivation of its staff.

Parental Leave Directive

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what powers he has to override (a) schools admissions decisions and (b) the design of school catchment areas.

David Miliband: School admissions decisions, such as setting admission arrangements and oversubscription criteria and deciding which children should be allocated a school place in accordance with those arrangements, rest with the admission authority for the school in question: the local education authority for community and voluntary controlled schools, the governing body for foundation and voluntary aided schools.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State can intervene only in limited circumstances. First, if a school governing body or local education authority is acting unreasonably or in default of a statutory duty, he may—if he thinks this expedient—direct them to put things right. These direction powers might be used, for example, to secure a child's entry to a community or voluntary controlled school if the governing body had refused to comply with the decision of the LEA (the admission authority) to admit that child. Secondly, if a LEA intends to direct the governing body of a foundation or voluntary aided school, which has refused to admit a child, to admit him or her, and the governing body refers the matter to the Secretary of State, he may uphold the LEA's decision to make the direction, or decide that the child should be admitted to another school instead.
	Many admission authorities use catchment areas to help decide which children should be admitted, if there are more applicants than places. The Admissions Code of Practice includes catchment areas in its list of common and acceptable over-subscription criteria. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State would only direct an admission authority to make changes to its choice of catchment area if he was satisfied both that the admission authority had acted unreasonably in the very strict sense the courts defined in the 'Wednesbury' case, and that it was expedient for him to intervene.

A-Levels

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average number of A-level points obtained per head of total 18-year old population was (a) in England and (b) in each local education authority in the last year for which figures are available.

David Miliband: holding answer 11 April 2003
	The information requested is contained in tables, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries.

Access Regulator (Higher Education)

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  when he will announce the name of the Access Regulator for Higher Education;
	(2)  when he will publish the consultation document on the proposed Access Regulator for Higher Education.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 4 April 2003
	We published our plans on 8 April 2003.

Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what net percentage increase per pupil Barnet is receiving from central Government funds in 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Figures for 2003–04 for all central Government funding for education, including formula funding and grants, and which are fully comparable with those of 2002–03, are not yet available. In particular not all grant allocations have yet been made. Compared with 2002–03, Barnet's Education Formula Spending Share per pupil for 2003–04 has increased by 7 per cent.

Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the (a) percentage and (b) cash increase necessary in (i) the schools budget and (ii) the individual schools budget in Barnet fully to meet his passporting requirements.

David Miliband: Based on the passporting targets given to authorities in December 2002, Barnet was required to increase its schools budget from £133.5 million in 2002–03 to £167.4 million. This increase of £34 million includes the LSC provisional grant of £18 million and £1.5 million of specific formula grants. The required passporting increase thus equates to an increase of £15 million or 11.3 per cent. over the 2002–03 schools budget figure.
	The Secretary of State's passporting requirements do not extend to the individual schools budget; it is for local education authorities, in consultation with their school forums, to make decisions on the distribution of funding within the schools budget.

Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of representations from Barnet council that (a) the cost pressures on schools to set a statemented budget in Barnet equate to 8.5 per cent., (b) the net loss in support from the changes to the standard fund is £4 million net and (c) the centrally retained budget is one of the lowest in (i) London and (ii) the country; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The Department does not collect information on the distribution of salaries by local education authority. It is therefore not possible for us to assess cost pressures on an individual local authority basis.
	The Standards Fund DfES grant has changed from £9.8 million in 2002–03 to £7.6 million in 2003–04—a reduction of £2.2 million. The figure for 2002–03 includes class size grant of £109,333. The funding for class size grant is now distributed via the Education Formula Spending Shares. Barnet received an increase in EFS per pupil of 7.0 per cent on a like for like basis.
	In terms of dealing with cost pressures, it is the increase in central spending, rather than the size of that spending in relation to other authorities, which will have a significant impact on the increase which Barnet's schools will see.

Child Care (Buckinghamshire)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) day nurseries, (b) playgroups, (c) childminders, (d) out-of-school clubs and (e) holiday schemes have been provided in Buckinghamshire in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: The information is not available in the form requested. The Department collected information on day nurseries and playgroups and pre-schools defined in terms of the full day or sessional care that they provide. It does not collect information on pre-schools separately from playgroups.
	The available information for Buckinghamshire local authority is shown in the tables. Figures for 2001 for out-of-school clubs and holiday schemes have recently been revised and are shown in the tables. Figures for 2001 and earlier years for England and Government Office regions were published in DfES Statistical Bulletin 08/01 "Children's Day Care Facilities at 31st March 2001", which is available in the Library and on the DfES website, www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics.
	
		Numbers of day care providers(28) Buckinghamshire local authority area 1998–2001
		
			  Position at 31 March each year 
			 Type of provider 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Day nurseries — 20 90 90 
			 Playgroups and pre-schools — 70 200 200 
			 Childminders 1,300 450 1,100 1,100 
			 Out-of-school clubs — 20 20 50 
			 Holiday schemes — 50 80(29) 70 
		
	
	(28) Figures have been rounded.
	(29) Includes those schemes exempt from registration.
	
		Numbers of day care places(30) Buckinghamshire local authority area 1998–2001
		
			  Position at 31 March each year 
			 Type of provider 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Day nurseries — 1,100 2,430 1,400 
			 Playgroups and pre-schools 4,900 1,820 1,400 4,600 
			 Childminders — 1,800 6,800 6,200 
			 Out-of-school clubs — 550 210 420 
			 Holiday schemes — 1,700 1,600(31) 4,200 
		
	
	(30) Figures have been rounded.
	(31) Includes those schemes exempt from registration

Children's Centres

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the 20 per cent. most deprived wards in the country to benefit from children's centres; and what criteria he will use to determine which of those wards will be included in the first wave of children's centres to be established.

Maria Eagle: Officials wrote to all local authorities on 21 February 2003 enclosing Start Up Guidance on children's centres. There are 136 local authorities that have wards rated as among the most disadvantaged 20 per cent. Of these 124 were given indicative funding, and targets for reach and child care places. The remaining 12 will be individually assessed on a case by case basis to determine the level of funding required.
	Local authorities are now beginning their strategic planning and will make decisions at a local level as to the best sites to develop children's centres. Sure Start Unit regional teams will work closely with local authorities over the spring and summer in developing these plans and local authorities will then submit their final strategic plans by 15 October 2003 at the latest. It is at that point that we will have full details of which wards will have children's centres.
	The only criterion is that the wards selected must be from the local authority's 20 per cent. most disadvantaged wards as defined in the ODPM Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Classroom Abuse

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many incidents of classroom abuse against teachers have been reported in Cambridgeshire in each year since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: This information is not collected from local education authorities. However, we are concerned to help schools prevent such behaviour. We have made clear that, where necessary, head teachers can permanently exclude pupils responsible for violence against teachers. We have also made available to schools, free on request, a toolkit which gives details of legal remedies available when parents or other adults behave in a violent or threatening manner towards teachers.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns between April 2002 and March 2003; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to (a) television, (b) radio and (c) print media.

Stephen Twigg: The spend on all advertising media space by the Department between April 2002 and March 2003 is set out as follows. This includes the spend on television, radio, poster, press and magazine and online activity. This does not include costs for internal recruitment advertising.
	
		
			 Campaign Cost £ 
		
		
			 Childcare Recruitment 2,741,377 
			 Childcare Recruitment, targeting ethnic minority audiences 50,000 
			 Aim Higher—a campaign to encourage wider participation in Higher Education 2,649,999 
			 Foundation Degrees 549,397 
			 Connexions 1,320,331 
			 Campaign to encourage year 9 students to visit a revision guide website to assist with their Key Stage 3 national tests 15,260 
			 Adult Basic Skills 5,478,117 
			 UCAS Campaign—a campaign to promote the UCAS helpline around the time of clearing 100,000 
			 Posters to support a Ministerial event on truancy 2,750 
			 Campaign to raise awareness of the availability of information regarding the 14–19 Green Paper consultation 16,366 
			 Campaign to promote awareness of proposed changes to student finance resulting from the Higher Education strategy 655,000 
			 Millennium Volunteers MTV Promotion 111,925 
			 Total 13,690,522 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide costs broken down by different media as requewsted. These could only be collated at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made with the pay review in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible, with particular reference to the gender pay gap; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: My Department has carried out a Gender Pay Equality Review in accordance with the commitment made by Government in response to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) Task Force 'Just Pay' Report.
	Any matters arising from the Review will be taken forward as part of the 2003 pay negotiations within the Department which are due to start in May.

Education Funding

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding for education, excluding the Standards Fund and School Standards Grant, was given to North Tyneside local authority in 2002–03; and how much is being given in 2003–04.

David Miliband: holding answer 11 April 2003
	In 2002–03 North Tyneside's Education Standard Spending Assessment was £83.09 million. In 2003–04 North Tyneside's Education Formula Spending Share is £91.8 million.
	The figure for 2003–04 is not fully comparable with 2002–03. The figure for 2003–04 includes funding transferred into EFS from grant and to take account of the increase in contributions to the teachers pension scheme. Neither figure includes funding transferred to the Learning and Skills Council for Sixth Form funding.

Educational Action Zones

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria he uses to determine educational action zones.

David Miliband: There are no plans to establish new Education Action Zones (EAZs). The first EAZs were established in September 1998; the last one started in May 2000. When they complete their five-year statutory term, they will transform either into an Excellence in Cities (EiC) Action Zone in an EiC area, or into an Excellence Cluster in a non-EiC area. There will be no new EiC Action Zones, other than those statutory zones that are transforming into EiC Action Zones in EiC areas. My predecessor, the hon. Member for East Ham made the announcement outlining the Transformation Strategy in November 2001.
	However, there will be a further expansion of Excellence Clusters between now and September 2005. There are now 25 clusters; 41 EAZs will transform to Excellence Clusters, and a further 14 new Excellence Clusters will be established by September 2005.

Employment Relations Act

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many staff in his Department have taken time off from work in order to attend to domestic incidents, as provided for by the Employment Relations Act 1999.

Stephen Twigg: Responsibility for authorising and monitoring leave for domestic reasons is devolved to individual management units in the Department. Records are not kept centrally and details could, therefore, be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ethnic Monitoring

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to maintained schools of (a) setting up and (b) maintaining the ethnic monitoring programme required by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

Stephen Twigg: No such estimates have been made. The collection of ethnic monitoring data is not a new requirement on schools. Schools have been required by the DfES to collect ethnic background data on pupils since 1990.

Higher Education

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether it is his policy to set access targets for higher education.

Margaret Hodge: We have a target to increase participation to higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18–30 by the end of the decade; also to make significant progress year on year towards fair access and to bear down on rates of non-completion.

Higher Education

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if it is his Department's policy that the Access Regulator for Higher Education should take account of the birth weight of applicants to courses of higher education.

Margaret Hodge: No.

Higher Education

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average cost was to public funds of (a) support, (b) teaching and (c) university infrastructure costs attributable to each higher education student in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Available data on average maintenance per student from public funds and the average student loan taken out from academic years 1997–98 to 2001–02 (latest year available) are given in the following table:
	
		Student support provision: Academic year 1997–98 to 2001–02(32) -- £
		
			  Academic year 
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 (Provisional) 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Average loans(33),(34)  
			 Student Support Scheme Students(35),(36) (37)— 2,580 3,150 3,100 3,120 
			 Mandatory Award Scheme Students(38) 1,530 1,520 1,470 1,450 1,500 
			 All Students 1,530 1,870 2,570 2,900 3,070 
			   
			 Average maintenance2  
			 Student Support Scheme Students(35),(36),(39) (37)— 690 120 140 (40)— 
			 Mandatory Award Scheme Students(38) 1,210 1,190 1,150 1,130 (40)— 
			 All Students 1,210 1,030 510 270 (40)— 
		
	
	(32) Tuition fees and maintenance support are assessed by Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales to eligible students normally domiciled in their area; student loans are available to eligible students normally domiciled in the United Kingdom.
	(33) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	(34) Student loans are available to most 'home' students on full-time undergraduate HE courses (and students on full-time and part-time postgraduate courses of initial teacher training) normally domiciled in the United Kingdom.
	(35) New student support arrangements in higher education came into effect in September 1998. For the first year of the new scheme, eligible new entrants received support for living costs through both grants and loans. Grants, which were assessed against family income, on average formed about a quarter of the support available. All students were entitled to a non income-assessed loan, which comprised the remaining three quarters of support available.
	(36) New entrants to higher education in 1999–2000, together with those who started in 1998–99, received support for living costs mainly through loans which are partly income-assessed. Grants for living costs are no longer available except for some limited allowances, e.g. for students with dependants; single parent students; and disabled students. Grants for students with dependants and single parent students are income-assessed but the Disabled Students' Allowance is not.
	(37) Not applicable.
	(38) Students who entered higher education up to 1997–98 and those who entered from 1998–99 under existing arrangements.
	(39) Maintenance expenditure for student support scheme students from 1999–2000 relates only to additional allowances/grants available to eligible students for extra help depending on their circumstances, e.g. students with disabilities, students with dependents, single parent students, those incurring certain travel costs, and those who have recently left care.
	(40) Not available.
	Source:
	Student Loans Company, F503G survey of local education authorities
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) provides funding for research, teaching and for ear-marked capital for higher education institutions in England through its funding method. Higher education institutions are able to allocate this according to their own priorities and also draw on other sources of funding, both public and private. This means that separate estimates of public funding per student for teaching and infrastructure are notional.
	The total HEFCE allocations for teaching and infrastructure costs for each academic year since 1997, and the implied notional costs per student, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Teaching £ million Per Student FTE (£) Infrastructure £ million Per Student FTE (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 2,342 2,546 0 0 
			 1998–99 2,690 2,965 0 0 
			 1999–2000 2,926 3,066 85 89 
			 2000–01 3,020 3,185 150 158 
			 2001–02 3,151 3,295 240 250 
			 2002–03 3,268 3,390 300 311

Higher Education

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average debt to (a) the Student Loans Company and (b) others was of a higher education student graduating in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Borrowers are liable to repay their loans from the April following graduation or otherwise leaving their course. The table shows estimates of average student loan debt on entering repayment status for borrowers who became liable to repay their loans in financial years 1998–99 to 2002–03. Figures include those on shorter courses as well as those who have left higher education early.
	
		Average student loan debt on entering repayment status(41),(41),(42) -- £
		
			 Financial year enteredrepayment status(43) Mortgage style loans(44),(45) Income contingent loans(46) 
		
		
			 1998–99 2,870 (47)— 
			 1999–2000 3,340 (47)— 
			 2000–01 3,920 2,340 
			 2001–02 4,500 3,530 
			 2002–03 5,160 6,000 
		
	
	(41) Data rounded to nearest 10. Includes interest.
	(42) Excludes any repayments which may have been made before borrowers enter repayment status.
	(43) Borrowers enter repayment status in the April following their graduation or otherwise leaving their course.
	(44) Loans made to students who entered higher education up to 1997–98 or who entered in 1998–99 under existing arrangements. Includes loans repayable to the private sector following the sale of two portfolios of student loans.
	(45) Includes loans sold in the two portfolios of student loans which are administered by the Student Loans Company.
	(46) Loans, repayable on an income contingent basis, available to students who entered higher education from academic year 1998–99. These loans were subject to a repayment holiday until April 2000. Includes hardship loans and the fixed rate loans (£500) to eligible part-time students.
	(47) Not applicable.
	Source:
	Student Loans Company
	Data on debts for which there is no public subsidy, such as overdrafts and credit cards, and informal debts to family and friends, are not held centrally.

Infant Classes (North Yorkshire)

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average infant class size in North Yorkshire was in each year since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: Information on infant class size is collected in the September Class Size Count, which first took place in 1998. The available figures are shown in the table.
	
		Maintained primary schools: infant class sizes taught by one teacher -- Position in September each year
		
			 North Yorkshire Local EducationAuthority Average infant class size 
		
		
			 1998 25.5 
			 1999 22.9 
			 2000 22.4 
			 2001 22.4 
			 2002 22.4 
		
	
	Source:
	September Class Size Count.

Investors in People

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in each local education authority have Investors in People status.

David Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Learners Lifeline Bids

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions have takes place between the Local Learning and Skills Council and the South Buckinghamshire 14 to 19 Consortium in relation to a Learners Lifeline bid; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 8 April 2003
	This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. However, the South Buckinghamshire 14 to 19 Consortium has recently submitted an expression of interest to the Department to be a 14 to 19 pathfinder in 2003–04. This includes, among other things, the creation of individual 'Learners Lifeline' packages to help retain in education and training those young people in danger of dropping out, and to promote inclusion. The expression of interest was submitted with the support and agreement of, among others, the Executive Director of the Local Learning and Skills Council.

Learning and Skills Councils

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many and what percentage of members of (a) each local learning and skills council and (b) the National Learning and Skills Council declare a record of political activity, broken down by party.

Margaret Hodge: Pursuant to my answer on 28 November, Official Report columns 397W, 398W and 399W, while attempting to make plain that appointments to the LSC are made through fair and open competition, and that we seek to attract applications from individuals with a wide range of appropriate experience, I said that this was regardless of any political affiliation they may have. This should in fact have read "regardless of any political activity that they may have undertaken".

Level 2 and 3 Qualifications

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 24 March, Official Report, column 37W, what proportion of (a) Level 2 and (b) Level 3 qualifications achieved in (i) schools and (ii) sixth form colleges in the last year were (A) vocational and (B) academic.

David Miliband: Tables 1 and 2 as follows show the numbers and proportions of academic and vocational awards made at level 2 and 3 during the 2000–01 academic year. The data are derived from two sources: academic awards data from the Secondary School and College Performance Tables database and vocational awards data from National Information System for Vocational Qualifications (NISVQ)1. Awards coverage is limited to England only.
	
		Table 1: Numbers and Proportions of Level 2 Awards by centre type and academic/vocational split 2000–01
		
			 Centre type Academic Vocational Total 
		
		
			  
			  
			 School 300,055 21,813 321,868 
			  93% 7% 100% 
			 Sixth Form College 76 4,902 4,978 
			  2% 98% 100% 
		
	
	Source
	Secondary School and College Performance Tables database and NISVQ
	Note
	1. NISVQ received information on around 92 per cent. of all NVQs/SVQs awarded in 2000–01
	
		Table 2: Numbers and Proportions of Level 3 awards by centre type and academic/vocational split 2000–2001
		
			 Centre type Academic Vocational Total 
		
		
			  
			  
			 School 192,251 12,366 205,317 
			  94% 6% 100% 
			 Sixth Form College 53,698 6,739 60,437 
			  89% 11% 100% 
		
	
	Source:
	Secondary School and College Performance Tables database and NISVQ
	Note
	1. NISVQ received information on around 92 per cent. of all NVQs awarded in 2000–01

Modern Languages

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) students enrolled on modern languages degrees and (b) young people entered higher education in each year since 1995.

Margaret Hodge: The available information is given in the table.
	
		Entrants(48)aged under 21 to first degree courses HEIs in the UK
		
			 Academic year Modern language courses All first degree courses 
		
		
			 1995–96 4,258 215,395 
			 1996–97 4,114 223,661 
			 1997–98 4,154 241,760 
			 1998–99 3,552 241,439 
			 1999–2000 3,431 244,660 
			 2000–01 3,250 246,104 
			 2001–02 3,030 255,357 
		
	
	(48) Home and overseas students on full-time and part-time courses. Excludes combined courses which may include modules in modern language.

Press Office

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people are employed in his Department's press office; and how many were employed on 2 May 1997.

Stephen Twigg: There were 23.5 people employed within the Department's Press Office on 1 April 2003 and 20.5 on 2 May 1997.

Primary Schools

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many primary schools in (a) Kent and (b) Sittingbourne and Sheppey have school populations of 100 or less.

David Miliband: holding answer 11 April 2003
	Data collected in January 2002 shows that the number of maintained primary schools in Kent that have a school population of 100 or less is 60. The corresponding figure for Sittingbourne and Sheppey parliamentary constituency is three.

Private Hire Vehicles

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements his Department makes for the regulation of private hire vehicle companies employed by local authorities to transport (a) adults and (b) children with (i) autism and (ii) other disabilities.

Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Mr. Jamieson) on 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 517W.

Property Portfolio

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the estimated value is of the property portfolio held by his Department.

Stephen Twigg: The estimated value of the property portfolio for my Department is as follows:
	Current net book value of Freehold property—£56,882,363.

Pupil Identification Number

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the authorised uses of the pupil identification number are; whether the use of the pupil identification number for non-education purposes is permitted; if he will bring forward legislation to prevent the use of the number for non-education purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The purpose of the "unique pupil number" (or UPN) is to facilitate the collation of information about pupils accumulated over the course of their school career and so to create profiles of their progress. These profiles are built up from the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC) showing the whereabouts and status of the pupil each January in terms of (for example) the school they were attending, their special educational needs, eligibility for free school meals and ethnic group, plus information obtained separately from schools, marking agencies and exam boards on their results in Key Stage assessments and public examinations. The profiles are stored in a National Pupil Database.
	A small number of technical staff engaged in collating the pupil level data and creating the profiles have access to pupils' UPNs and names. Analysts in the Department and partner agencies (Ofsted, QCA and LSC) have access to anonymised profiles for use for statistical purposes only. LEAs, and through them schools, can access the profiles of their own pupils (including UPNs and names in this case) in order to fill gaps in their own data which have arisen through information being lost as pupils move from school to school.
	Analysis of the profiles in the national database provides schools, LEAs, the Department and its partners with major new information to support standards raising and other policies such as ethnic monitoring. Schools are also helped to make appropriate provision for their pupils by being able to obtain from the national database more complete information about them.
	The introduction of UPNs in 1999 was preceded by extensive discussions with the then Data Protection Registrar. The system is operated in a manner agreed with her in order to minimise any threat to personal privacy which might be posed if access to and use of UPNs and the National Pupil Database were not properly controlled.
	The use of UPNs for non-education purposes is not permitted. There is no evidence that any agencies or organisations have attempted to use UPNs improperly for non-education purposes. If such evidence began to emerge, powers exist under the Data Protection Act 1998 which would enable the Department to set out in a Parliamentary order the permitted uses of UPNs, thereby rendering their use for any other purpose illegal.

Schools (Capital Spending)

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what capital spending there has been in schools in Amber Valley since May 1997.

David Miliband: We do not hold information at constituency level, as the bulk of capital investment for school buildings is allocated to local education authorities and to schools. Capital funding for Derbyshire LEA is set out in the following table:
	
		Derbyshire LEA capital allocations -- £000
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 4,037 
			 1998–99 12,965 
			 1999–2000 13,855 
			 2000–01 27,405 
			 2001–02 (49)50,596 
			 2002–03 37,207 
			 2003–04 (50)66,916 
		
	
	(49) Includes £29 million of PFI credits.
	(50) Includes £30 million of PFI credits.

Schools Access Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools in the Buckingham constituency benefited from the Schools Access Initiative in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03; and how much each school was awarded.

David Miliband: The Schools Access Initiative provides resources to help make mainstream schools accessible to pupils with disabilities. The funding is allocated to local education authorities and it is for each authority to decide its priority schemes. In total, Buckinghamshire LEA has received £1.3 million through the Schools Access Initiative in the years 2000–03.
	At the end of the financial year LEAs are required to report back to the Department the projects funded from the Initiative. According to the reports received from Buckinghamshire LEA, no projects in schools in the Buckingham constituency were funded from Schools Access Initiative in 2000–01. In 2001–02 Gawcott Community Infant School received £20,230 and Royal Latin School £17,805. LEAs have until 25 July 2003 to return reports for 2002–03.

Standards Fund (North Tyneside)

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding was received by North Tyneside local authority from the Standards Fund in 2002–03; and how much is being received in 2003–04.

David Miliband: holding answer 11 April 2003
	The total Standards Fund grant allocated to North Tyneside local education authority in 2002–03, and 2003–04 to date, is shown in the following table, split between recurrent and capital grants.
	
		Standards Fund Grant for North Tyneside -- £ million
		
			  Recurrent Grant Capital Grant 
		
		
			 2002–03 9.18 7.95 
			 2003–04 9.02 5.64 
		
	
	The figures include Government grant only, they do not include local authority contributions to the Standards Fund. The recurrent figure for 2002–03 includes class size grant of £378,000. The funding for class size grant is now distributed via the Education Formula Spending Shares (EFSS). North Tyneside received an increase in EFSS per pupil of 7.0 per cent. on a like for like basis.

Standards Fund (North Tyneside)

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much School Standards Grant was paid to schools in North Tyneside in 2002–03; and how much is being paid in 2003–04.

David Miliband: holding answer 11 April 2003
	North Tyneside received £2,721,800 in School Standards Grant (SSG) for the year 2002–03. The amount due to be paid for 2003–04 has not yet been calculated; payments will be made to authorities at the beginning of May. It is expected to increase broadly in line with the national increases in SSG levels.

Statements

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in the (a) state maintained and (b) independent sector in Gloucestershire have statements in each year from year 1 to year 11.

David Miliband: The information available is shown in the table.
	
		Maintained primary, secondary and special schools: Number of pupils with a statement of SEN by age(51),(52)—Gloucestershire local education authority—January 2002
		
			 Pupils aged Maintained primary Maintained secondary Maintained special(53) Total 
		
		
			 3 0 (54)— 2 2 
			 4 26 (54)— 12 38 
			 5 59 (54)— 32 91 
			 6 88 (54)— 35 123 
			 7 117 (54)— 36 153 
			 8 130 (54)— 48 178 
			 9 152 (54)— 59 211 
			 10 182 (54)— 80 262 
			 11 31 136 93 260 
			 12 (54)— 183 94 277 
			 13 (54)— 181 138 319 
			 14 (54)— 161 117 278 
			 15 (54)— 147 109 256 
			 16 (54)— 25 6 31 
			 17 (54)— 8 9 17 
			 18 (54)— 1 4 5 
			 Total all ages 785 842 874 2,501 
		
	
	(51) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(52) Age as at 31 August 2001.
	(53) Excludes General Hospital schools.
	(54) Not applicable.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census
	Information on the number of pupils in the independent sector who have a statement of SEN by age is not collected centrally.

Student Finance

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to introduce a lower maximum annual top-up fee for part-time higher education courses.

Margaret Hodge: There is no fixed fee for part-time higher education. Unlike the position for full time provision, higher education providers are free to set the fees for part-time higher education at a level they choose. We announced in the White Paper "The future of higher education" that we would improve the package of support for part time students by introducing a new fee support grant for those whose income is below certain thresholds, and who are studying courses that are at least half-time. Full details of the package will be announced later in the year.

Student Finance

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will publish the funding implications for his Department of devolved administrations not using top up fees in their universities to fund higher education.

Margaret Hodge: The implications for the funding of institutions if variable fees are not used are a matter for the devolved nations. The devolved administrations for Scotland and Northern Ireland have responsibility for student support. This Department is currently responsible for student support for higher education students in England and Wales. Whilst this remains the case, the funding implications for both administrations of deferring variable fees will be taken into account when providing funding for students in England and Wales.

Student Finance

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will publish the comparative cost analysis showing the differences between using (a) a top up fees system and (b) a graduate tax to fund future higher education before the end of the formal consultation period for the White Paper.

Charles Clarke: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly) on 3 April 2003, Official Report, columns 815–17W.

Student Funding

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average difference was between the cost of a student resident at home and a student resident away from home (a) to the student and (b) to public funds in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Student costs consist of maintenance cost and tuition fee (if paid by the student).
	The average assessed student contribution towards tuition fees depends on family income and does not vary according to whether the student lives at home or away from home. Parents are assumed to contribute towards the tuition costs of their student children. There are no data available which discriminate between the cost to the student only and the cost to other family members, i.e. parents/spouse/cohabitee.
	The average assessed student contribution towards tuition fees for all eligible higher education students, in England and Wales, on courses subject to income-assessment for academic years 1999–2000 and 2000–01 (latest year available) are £470 and £510 respectively. Robust data on assessed student contributions for academic year 1998–99 (the first year of the student support scheme funding arrangements) are not available.
	The Department does not have up to date and reliable information on the amounts students actually spent supporting themselves. We are, however, conducting a limited Student Income and Expenditure Survey for the academic year 2002–03, which is due to report in July this year. We are conducting a comprehensive SIES for the academic year 2003–04 and the results will be available in November 2004.
	The cost to public funds of the student maintenance loan, and where applicable the maintenance grant, varies according to whether the student lives at home or away from home as the amounts of support available depend on term-time residence. There are no data available, which compare these costs.

Sure Start

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the Sure Start programmes in Buckinghamshire, indicating the amount spent on each scheme.

Maria Eagle: There are two Sure Start local programmes operating in Buckinghamshire.
	A mini Sure Start programme in Booker and Castlefield, High Wycombe, was approved in September 2002 with revenue funding of £114,500 for 2002–03. Funding for capital projects of around £64,500 has been approved to date including funding for equipment and professional fees. Plans to extend the mini Sure Start programme to a full (Round 6) Sure Start local programme are currently being considered by the Sure Start Unit. Subject to approval, the revenue funding likely to be offered is £417,500 for 2003–04, £709,750 for 2004–05, and £835,000 for 2005–06, with on-going funding for a total of up to 10 years.
	A round-three programme in Milton Keynes was approved in August 2001. Revenue funding approved of £357,029 for 2001–02, £665,005 for 2002–03 and £715,000 for 2003–04. On-going funding will continue after this for a total of up to 10 years. Funding for capital projects of £42,000 has been approved to date for fees for a proposed building at Fuller Slade and Hodge Lea. The programme can apply for approval of capital funding up to £1 million.

Tuition Fees

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much he estimates will be raised for higher education from students' tuition fees, net of state support, in each of the financial years (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06, (c) 2006–07 and (d) 2007–08.

Margaret Hodge: Net of state support, the estimate of UK and EU-domiciled students' contribution to tuition fees in institutions in England for 2004–05 is £457 million. The estimate for 2005–06 is £485 million. No estimates have been made of students' contributions for years following that. The actual level of income raised will depend on the decisions institutions make about the fees charged. Where students choose to defer those contributions, the Government will advance the money to institutions and recover the funds from students after graduation.

Tuition Fees

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what evidence his Department has collated from (a) the United States (b) Australia, (c) Canada and (d) New Zealand on the impact of different tuition fees on access to university for students from different socio-economic backgrounds; and if he will place it in the Library.

Margaret Hodge: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 81W.

Union Flag

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will issue guidance to state-funded schools on flying the Union Flag on a daily basis.

Stephen Twigg: It is for schools and governing bodies to make decisions about the flying of the Union Flag. There are no plans to provide guidance to schools on this issue. Pupils may learn about the Union Flag through the National Curriculum, in particular in citizenship education which became statutory for 11 to 16-year-olds in September 2002. Pupils will have the opportunity to explore the unique qualities that are part of the shared identities of the countries of the United Kingdom.

Work Placements

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the CBI's report on work placements, with particular reference to its findings that students found work placements grim, boring and unrelated to the curriculum.

David Miliband: holding answer 8 April 2003
	There has been no recent report by the CBI on work experience placements, but we are aware of the CBI's views on the quality of these. Independent evaluations carried out for the Department point to the need for improvements of practice in some schools and businesses. We are taking steps to promote improvements in the context of our plans to make work-related learning a statutory requirement for all Key Stage 4 pupils from 2004–05, and to enable them all to have at least two weeks of high quality work experience.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces Pension Scheme

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Armed Forces pension scheme.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence has been considering responses to the consultation paper on a new Armed Forces Pension Scheme which it published in March 2001. These included comments from Service personnel, from the ex- Service community and from the House of Commons Defence Committee. Our work on the review is also taking account of proposals in the Government's two pensions Green Papers published in December 2002. I expect to receive shortly recommendations for the revision of the original proposals reflecting this further work, and to publish the Government's final decisions on the design of a new scheme before the summer recess.

Cluster Bombs

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RBL755 cluster bombs have been dropped on targets within Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: As of 9 April, United Kingdom Forces have dropped in the region of 66 RBL 755 cluster bombs in the Iraq conflict. These have been used against large troop concentrations, armour and artillery in the open.

Cluster Bombs

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many L20 cluster shells have been fired by UK forces around Basra.

Geoff Hoon: As at 9 April 2003, United Kingdom Forces have fired in the region of 2,000 L20 Extended Range Bomblet Shells at Iraqi military targets around Basra.

Cluster Bombs

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the United States on banning cluster bombs.

Geoff Hoon: I have had no discussions with my United States counterpart on banning cluster bombs.

Defence Housing

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the procedure for the sale of his Department's housing by the Defence Housing Executive; whether the procedure is uniform to all the nations in the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discounts (a) service personnel and (b) ex-service personnel are eligible for under the sales procedures of the Defence Housing Executive; what the minimum eligibility requirements are; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: Most of the Service family housing in England and Wales was sold in 1996 to a private company, Annington Homes Ltd., under a sale and leaseback agreement. Under the agreement, houses which subsequently become surplus to Defence requirements are released to Annington's for disposal. The identification of surplus properties for release is a matter for the department, but the method of subsequent disposal or usage by Annington's is entirely a matter for the company, based on their commercial judgment.
	The Ministry of Defence retains responsibility for the disposal of all family quarters in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and a few outside the Annington sale and leaseback deal in England and Wales. When properties in this category become surplus to predicted long term requirement, they are sold in accordance with Treasury guidelines which stipulate that Departments should obtain the best possible price for surplus publicly-owned assets. They are usually offered for sale on the open market at market price.

Defence Medical Services

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of the Defence Medical Services was in each year from 1995–96.

Lewis Moonie: The costs of the Defence Medical Services (DMS) in the years 1995–96 to 2001–02, and the estimated cost for 2002–03, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1995–96 333.0 
			 1996–97 257.7 
			 1997–98 273.5 
			 1998–99 291.5 
			 1999–2000 320.2 
			 2000–01 332.9 
			 2001–02 348.9 
			 2002–03 397.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information for the years 1995–96 to 1998–99 is reproduced from the House of Commons Defence Committee Seventh report "The Strategic Defence Review: Defence Medical Services" published on 27 October 1999. The final outturn for 1998–99 was the same as the estimated figure contained in the HCDC Report.
	2. The figure for 1995–96 is the cost of the DMS estimated by Defence Cost Study 15(DCS 15). The figure contained in the DCS 15 report included primary care costs, estimated at £81.1 million. This has been removed here to allow accurate comparison with the figures for subsequent years.
	3. Figures for 1996–97 to 2001–02 comprise the costs of the Surgeon General's Department and the four medical agencies (the Defence Secondary Care Agency, Defence Dental Agency, the Defence Medical Training Organisation, and the Medical Supplies Agency), the single Service Medical Directorates General, the Institute of Naval Medicine, the Centre for Aviation Medicine and British Forces Germany.
	4. The estimated figure for 2002–03 comprises the costs of the Defence Medical Services Department (formerly the Surgeon General's Department) and the three medical Agencies (the Defence Secondary Care Agency, Defence Dental Agency, and the Defence Medical Training Organisation), the single Service Medical Directorates General, the Institute of Naval Medicine, the Centre for Aviation Medicine, British Forces Germany and the Medical Supplies Agency, which was transferred to the Defence Logistics Organisation in April 2002. Figures for Germany cover secondary care for Army and RAF personnel and primary care for Army personnel from 1996–97 to 2000–01 and both Army and remaining RAF personnel in 2001–02 and 2002–03.
	5. Except where advised above, primary care costs cannot be provided without disproportionate effort as they are disaggregated and are embedded in individual units' budgets.
	6. In financial year 2001–02, the Ministry of Defence changed accounting systems to include full Resource Accounts (which include costs of fixed assets etc, not reported previously). However, the figures for 2001–02 and 2002–03 in the table have been adjusted to allow comparison with prior years.
	7. Estimated costs for 2002–03 include additional expenditure relating to military action against Iraq.

Departmental Targets

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the key targets set for his Department's agencies since 1997–98 were; and whether those targets were met.

Lewis Moonie: Ministry of Defence agencies announce their key targets annually via a written statement in the House. Performance against key targets is published in the relevant agency annual report, a copy of which is placed in the Library of the House. In addition a summary of Ministry of Defence agency performance, showing by agency how many of the targets were met, is included in the Ministry of Defence annual performance report. A copy of this report is also placed in the Library of the House, and for 1998 onwards is available on www.mod.uk.

Departmental Website

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the (a) cost of and (b) number of visitors to each website operated by his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible in each year since its establishment.

Lewis Moonie: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Depleted Uranium Dust

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research the Government have (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned into the health effects of inhaling or ingesting depleted uranium dust.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence has not undertaken any research so far into the health effects of inhaling or ingesting depleted uranium (DU) dust.
	However, as part of our DU research programme, which I announced in the House on 14 March 2002, Official Report, columns 1179–80W, we will be reviewing the literature relevant to the effects of DU exposure by inhalation on neurocognitive functioning, pulmonary loading and transport to and uptake by the pulmonary lymph nodes. Following review, we will recommend a way forward on these issues, which may include new research.
	We do not plan to commission research into the health effects of ingesting DU. Much has already been published relating to the ingestion of DU, and therefore, MOD considers that there is no requirement for further research in this area at this time.

Field Trials

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the publication Summary Listing of Field Trial Programmes.

Lewis Moonie: I have consulted widely with my staff concerning this question and have been unable to locate the publication to which the hon. Member referred to in his question.
	Following extensive discussions, this question has been interpreted as referring to the Field Trial Programme undertaken historically by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down. The collation of a listing of the unclassified titles of the field trials undertaken as part of this programme could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Gulf War Syndrome

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the research his Department has conducted into the possible causes of Gulf War syndrome.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 11 April 2003
	Findings from two major independent epidemiological studies funded by the Ministry of Defence into Gulf veterans' illnesses following the 1990–91 Gulf conflict have been published. The results from a study of mortality were published in "The Lancet" on 1 July 2000. The researchers found that the number of deaths and the causes of death in the comparison group comprising of those who did not deploy to the Gulf were similar to those for Gulf veterans. There was however a small non-significant excess of non-disease related deaths among Gulf veterans, particularly due to accidents.
	Results from an epidemiological study of ill health were published in the May 2001 edition of "Occupational and Environmental Medicine". The researchers found that Gulf veterans reported symptoms with a greater severity than those who were not deployed to the Gulf although the overall severity of symptoms was not high. There was no evidence of any illness unique to Gulf veterans. In terms of symptom severity, the various symptoms reported were ranked in generally the same order by both groups. The researchers found no evidence of a "Gulf War Syndrome". Weak associations between particular self-reported exposures (handling pesticides, vaccinations and exposure to oil well fire smoke) and particular types of ill health were found although no indication was given of a link between "handling pesticides" and actual contact with the pesticides. In another study, clinical tests on a number of Gulf veterans who had significant neuromuscular symptoms were carried out. A paper reporting results from the study was published in "Neurology" on 26 November 2002. The paper reports that the researchers found no neurophysiological evidence for a specific neuromuscular disorder that could be linked to deployment to the Gulf. In addition, interim results have been published from the Ministry of Defence's Vaccines Interactions Research Programme. On 1 April 2003, Official Report, column 55WS, I announced that preliminary results from the current phase of the study using marmosets are available and were presented by means of a scientific poster. These preliminary results indicated no apparent adverse health consequences three months following the administration of vaccine and/or pyridostigmine bromide (the active chemical in Nerve Agent Pre-treatment Sets tablets) to marmosets.
	The findings from other studies are yet to be published. Full details of all the Gulf veterans' illnesses related research studies being funded by the Ministry of Defence are available on the Internet at: www.mod.uk.issues/gulfwar/research.htm.
	A considerable amount of research into Gulf veterans' illnesses has been undertaken in the United States and the United States Department of Defence have also funded research in the UK. There is scientific evidence that some veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf conflict report a large number of multi-system, multi-organ, non-specific, medically unexplained symptoms as well as recognised medical conditions. However, the overwhelming consensus of the scientific and medical community is that there is insufficient evidence to enable this ill-health to be characterised as a unique illness, condition or 'syndrome'.

Gulf War Syndrome

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to publicise the symptoms associated with Gulf War syndrome.

Lewis Moonie: None. The Ministry of Defence accepts that some veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf Conflict have become ill and that many believe this ill health is related to their Gulf experience. A large number of multi-system, multi-organ, non-specific, medically unexplained symptoms have been reported by some Gulf veterans as well as recognised medical conditions. However, the overwhelming consensus of the scientific and medical community is that there is insufficient evidence to enable this ill-health to be characterised as a unique illness, condition or "syndrome". The MOD's approach must be guided by the scientific and medical community and therefore does not recognise "Gulf War Syndrome" as a medical condition.
	Gulf veterans who are concerned about their health should contact the MOD's Gulf Veterans' Illnesses Unit on Freephone: 0800 169 4495.

Gulf War Syndrome

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the Government-funded SCOPE study, published in The Lancet on 2 March; whether he will amend his policy for treating and compensating Gulf War illness victims; and if he will announce arrangements for assessing the conditions of any UK troops similarly affected in the current hostilities in Iraq.

Lewis Moonie: I assume the hon. Member is referring to a letter published in The Lancet on 2 March 2002 entitled: "Paraoxanse (PON1) polymorphisms in farmers attributing ill health to sheep dip." The letter reports outputs from a Government funded study and suggests that organophosphate pesticides contribute to the reported ill health of some people who dip sheep. The final report from the study referred to in the letter is not yet available. When it is, we will consider carefully all of the study's findings and implications in consultation with inter-departmental colleagues and expert advisers. Medical treatment for service personnel is the responsibility of the Defence Medical Service and for those who have left the armed forces, the NHS. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 April 2003, Official Report, column 881W, to the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Malins) regarding compensation. We are considering arrangements for assessing the health of United Kingdom service personnel involved in military operations in Iraq. I expect to make an announcement shortly.

Hydrographic Office

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the contribution of the Hydrographic Office to current military operations in the Gulf.

Lewis Moonie: The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office has provided a broad range of additional support to the Royal Navy in terms of data, information and hydrographic products during the current military operations.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy not to use cluster bombs in urban or populated areas in Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: Cluster bombs are only used strictly in accordance with international law. This includes the principles of distinction and proportionality as well as precautionary measures to be taken in planning and conducting an attack, as contained in the First Additional Protocol of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The targeting process takes account of these principles in matching the type of weapon used to the target to be attacked. There will be circumstances when it would be considered more appropriate to use other munitions than cluster bombs. These circumstances are more likely to arise in urban or populated areas as cluster bombs engage targets that cover an area. However, a decision on which type of munition to use has to take into account all the circumstances at the time of an attack. It follows that it would be unlikely that cluster bombs would be used in an urban unpopulated area.

Iraq

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will hold an inquiry into the numbers of deaths of journalists during the current campaign in Iraq.

Lewis Moonie: All reports of coalition action resulting in the deaths of civilians are investigated. The United Kingdom works with coalition partners to verify the facts of such reported incidents. The profession of civilian casualties is not a concern when investigating such incidents.
	Very careful attention is applied to ensure that in the coalition's campaign the risk of damage to civilian populations and infrastructure is minimised. However, military action is never without risk, and lawful actions against military targets may result in harm to civilians. Any civilian casualties resulting from military action are deeply regretted.
	The active battlefield is not a benign environment and coalition forces cannot be held responsible for, or guarantee the safety of, journalists who enter such a location independently. This is one of the reasons why we have embedded war correspondents whose activities can be properly co-ordinated with our own forces.

Iraq

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance he will issue to members of the public who want to collect items and send them to (a) British service men and women serving in the Gulf and (b) Iraqi civilians including children, in order to assist their welfare; to what address items can be sent; what items are most needed by each group; what weight limits would be placed on any parcels; and when such deliveries may be likely to be appropriate.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 8 April 2003, Official Report, column 15WS and 10 April 2003, Official Report, columns 32–34WS.
	The Ministry of Defence is not an appropriate conduit for items intended for Iraqi civilians, which are best handled by charitable organisations.

Prisoners of War

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures are in place for screening prisoners of war for diseases prior to their internment with other prisoners and contact with UK forces; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 10 April 2003
	It is not possible to screen prisoners of war prior to contact with United Kingdom forces. However, prisoners of war are screened by UK military medical staff from 5 General Support Medical Regiment as they arrive at holding facilities. Those that require medical attention are referred to a field hospital.

Prisoners of War

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the conditions in which Iraqi prisoners of war are held;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the diet supplied to Iraqi prisoners of war;
	(3)  what facilities are available for Iraqi prisoners of war to send and receive correspondence from their homes;
	(4)  if he will make a statement on the medical facilities available to Iraqi prisoners of war;
	(5)  what the average time taken is for Iraqi prisoners of war to complete a capture card;
	(6)  if he will make a statement on the process following capture by British armed forces of Iraqi prisoners of war; and how information about the status of Iraqi prisoners of war is conveyed to next of kin.

Adam Ingram: Upon being taken prisoner, Iraqi combatants are evacuated to a safe location, away from the dangers of combat, as soon as is practicable. They are held initially at collection points by the unit taking them prisoner, where their identity is established and recorded. They are then transferred to a more permanent holding facility.
	In accordance with Article 70 of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, upon capture, and subsequently following any change in location, every prisoner of war is given the opportunity to write direct to his or her family, and through the completion of a Capture Card, to the Central Prisoners of War Agency in Geneva. Prisoner of war details are given to the International Committee for the Red Cross who have the responsibility for the distribution of letters, parcels and Capture Cards.
	Prisoners of war are provided with Halal food in accordance with local practice. They are given one hot and two cold meals per day, and water and hot drinks are readily available. They are provided with shelter, in the form of carpeted, tented accommodation and, if needed, medical treatment.

Private Geoff Grey

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what legal reasons prevent the convening of a Board of Inquiry into the death of Private Geoff Grey.

Lewis Moonie: There is no legal reason that prevents a Board of Inquiry being convened into the death of Private Gray. However, in accordance with the Queen's Regulations for the Army, it is normal working practice not to convene a Board of Inquiry into any incident which is being, or is likely to be, subject to a police investigation or criminal proceedings, either military or civil. The police investigation into the death of Private Gray remains on-going and a Board of Inquiry will be convened once this is complete.

Staff Union Duties

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in 2002.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence does not record paid time off for trade union duties by days but by percentage of their overall work time. The following table shows the number of employees who are allowed paid time off for trade union activities, the percentage of their time allowed and the cost during 2001–02.
	
		Number of TU representatives
		
			  Percentage 
			 2001–02 0–10 11–49 50–99 100 Total Cost (£) 
		
		
			 Industrials 335 117 22 21 515 1,118,327 
			 Non-Industrials 633 125 23 33 814 2,355,010 
		
	
	We do not collect the information for trade union representatives in the Service Museums which are non-departmental public bodies.

Sunset Clauses

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the sunset clauses included in legislation from his Department since 1997.

Lewis Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 October 2002, Official Report, columns 537–38W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mr. Ingram).

War Disablement Pension

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on proposed changes to war disablement pensions.

Lewis Moonie: I expect to publish before the summer recess the Government's conclusions on the Department's review of arrangements for compensating members of the armed forces whose injury or illness is due to service. Payments under a new Armed Forces Compensation Scheme would replace awards currently made under the War Pension Scheme and the Armed Forces Pension Scheme for injuries or illness caused on or after the date of implementation. The new scheme should provide simpler and fairer arrangements that recognise the special status of the armed forces and focus better on those personnel most severely disabled.

Wind Farms

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the first windfarm planning application was scrutinised by his Department; and for that year, and each year since, how many (a) applications were scrutinised, (b) applications falling wholly or partly within a low-flying tactical training area were (i) approved and (ii) opposed and (c) applications falling wholly outside a low-flying tactical training area were (i) approved and (ii) opposed.

Lewis Moonie: Windfarm proposals were first regularly scrutinised by the Department in 1998. The Department sees proposals at the pre-planning stage and the figures listed in the table reflect this.
	
		
			  Total number of: 
			 Year Proposals Objections Low flying objections 
		
		
			 1998 213 46 5 
			 1999 149 26 — 
			 2000 161 51 23 
			 2001 347 145 45 
			 2002 1,027 248 34 
		
	
	The other information requested is not held separately and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Wind Farms

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors are taken into account in determining whether to approve or oppose windfarm applications in low-flying tactical training areas; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: The Department fully supports the Government's targets for renewable energy. Every proposal received is considered individually by at least seven separate technical advisers, each with their own specialism. The criteria for users is the likely effect of the development on operational capability and the ability to train our pilots safely.
	The presence of wind turbines in most areas of the United Kingdom presents no difficulty to low flying aircraft as these and other naturally tall structures are taken into account as part of route planning. However, within the tactical training areas, a large proliferation of obstacles is avoided as this would negate the value of the training. For these reasons, wind farm proposals may compromise flight safety to an unacceptable level and result in an objection from the Department.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Digital Television

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress is being made on the Digital Television Action Plan.

Kim Howells: The Digital Television Action Plan is updated regularly. I am arranging for copies of the current version of the Action Plan to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The Action Plan is available on the website: www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk

Entertainment Licensing

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer of 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 22W, on entertainment licensing, whether the charge made to cover costs can include the costs of the entertainer; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: holding answer 11 April 2003
	Under the Bill, entertainment which the public or members of a qualifying club did not attend would not be licensable if a charge was made with the intention of only covering costs, which may include the costs of the entertainer.

European Capital of Culture

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of Birmingham's bid to be designated European Capital of Culture.

Richard Caborn: We have appointed an Independent Advisory Panel to assess all the bids. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will wait for the panel's final report and recommendation before reaching any conclusions about any of the six shortlisted bids.

European Capital of Culture

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received in support of Birmingham's bid to be designated European Capital of Culture.

Richard Caborn: We have received many representations in support of Birmingham being designated European Capital of Culture, from both people in Birmingham and from elsewhere in the West Midlands.

European Capital of Culture

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to visit Birmingham to discuss the city's bid to be designated European Capital of Culture.

Richard Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to visit Birmingham or any of the other shortlisted cities to discuss their bids to be designated European Capital of Culture. However she may visit on other business and in order to present a certificate to mark their designation as a Centre of Culture.

European Capital of Culture

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the independent expert panel who will judge Birmingham's bid to be designated European Capital of Culture.

Richard Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met the Chair and members of the Independent Advisory Panel on 26 March to discuss with them the progress of the competition and their approach to the assessment of the six shortlisted bids.

European Working Groups

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress with achieving transparency in respect of the European working groups for which her Department is responsible.

Richard Caborn: The position on transparency with regard to the European Economic Area working groups on which the Department is represented is as follows:
	Cultural Affairs Committee
	Audio Visual Working Group
	Meetings are not open to the public, and papers are variously classified. Those with no restriction are put immediately on the Council website (http://europa.eu.int/pol/av/index en.htm); others have a restricted circulation while proposals are under negotiation.
	Television Without Frontiers Directive (Article 23(A)) Contact Committee
	Proceedings are restricted to the member states, and papers are generally available after one year. Decisions on availability are for the Contact Committee.
	Working Group on Cultural Statistics
	Working Group on Audiovisual Statistics
	Working Group on the Collection of Statistical Information in the field of Tourism
	At the end of 2002, the Eurostat management board decided in principle that summary minutes of all Eurostat working groups should be published on the website (http: //europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat). Plans are in hand to do this.

Exhibitions

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list events at which her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible have exhibited in each of the last three years, stating for each (a) the purpose of exhibiting, (b) the cost of exhibiting and (c) the number of staff attending for the exhibition.

Kim Howells: This information is not held centrally and it would not be possible to provide it without incurring disproportionate cost.

Information Technology

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's (a) total managed expenditure (b) total spending on information technology and (c) spending on information technology as a proportion of its total managed expenditure was in each financial year since 199798.

Kim Howells: The figures for total managed expenditure and spend on information technology are as follows.
	
		 million
		
			  199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 
		
		
			 Total managed expenditure 4,187 4,949 5,590 5,486 5,766 
			 IT expenditure 1.81 1.96 3.3 3 2.9 
			 IT expenditure as percentage 0.04% 0.04% 0.06% 0.05% 0.05% 
		
	
	The figure for information technology expenditure only covers departmental IT systems and services. It does not include expenditure on IT or IT projects that the Department's sponsored bodies may have undertaken.

National Insurance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost will be to public funds in 200304 of the rise in national insurance contributions on the salary bill of her Department.

Kim Howells: It is estimated that the changes to employers' national insurance contributions announced in last year's Budget will increase pay costs on average by 0.7 per cent. next year.

National Lottery

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the difference in annual lottery funding between (a) that received by the Birmingham, Erdington constituency and (b) the average amount awarded per constituency; and what steps she is taking to address this difference.

Richard Caborn: According to the National Lottery database which is based on information provided by distributors, the Birmingham, Erdington constituency has received 14.65 per head compared with a national median of 102.05. The sum of awards to a particular constituency does not reflect the wider benefits such areas may receive from national, regional and local authority wide awards. We have none the less encouraged distributors to work closely with hon. Members from constituencies which appear to have done less well to encourage greater levels of applications from such areas.

Pension Schemes

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the (a) funded and (b) unfunded public sector pension schemes for which her Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies are responsible; when the last actuarial valuation was of each scheme; what the value was of the assets at the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; what deficit is disclosed by the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The pension arrangements for the Royal Parks Agency and the non-departmental public bodies for which the Department is responsible are as follows:
	(a) Funded schemes
	Local Government Pension Schemes
	Film Council
	Geffrye Museum
	Horniman Museum
	Museum of London
	Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
	Sport England
	UK Sport
	Stand Alone Funded Schemes
	Arts Council England
	British Tourist Authority (Visit Britain)
	Historic Royal Palaces
	Horserace Betting Levy Board
	Horserace Totalisator Board
	National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA)
	(b) Unfunded schemes
	Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS)
	British Library
	British Museum
	Broadcasting Standards Commission
	Commission For Architecture and the Built Environment
	Community Fund
	English Heritage
	Football Licensing Authority
	Gaming Board for Great Britain
	Imperial War Museum
	National Gallery
	National Heritage Memorial Fund
	National Lottery Commission
	National Maritime Museum (not for new staff)
	National Museum of Science and Industry
	National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside
	National Portrait Gallery
	Natural History Museum
	New Opportunities Fund
	Registrar of the Public Lending Right
	Resource; The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries
	Royal Armouries
	Royal Parks Agency
	Sir John Soane's Museum
	Tate Gallery
	Victoria and Albert Museum
	Wallace Collection
	Details of the last actuarial valuation of the PCSPS can be found in the resource accounts of the Cabinet Office. The Department does not hold centrally data about the various funded scheme arrangements of its non-departmental public bodies. Further information is available in the annual accounts of each organisation which are placed in the Libraries of the House.

Private Finance Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the expected saving to public funds from the private finance initiative schemes due to become operational in 2003.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 10 April 2003, Official Report, column 400W.

Sport Funding

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of the (a) Sport England and (b) UK Sport budget was spent on grant aid to national governing bodies in (i) 200102 and (ii) 200203; and what percentage is to be spent on grant aid to National Governing Bodies in 200304.

Richard Caborn: The percentage of (a) Sport England's and (b) UK Sport's core grant in aid allocated to National Governing Bodies is set out in the following table.
	
		Percentage
		
			  200102 200203 200304 
		
		
			 Sport England 19.30 19.70 19.00 
			 UK Sport 28.01 33.45 47.61

Sport Funding

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the Exchequer funding allocation to Sport England and UK Sport is for (a) 200203 and (b) 200304.

Richard Caborn: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		 million
		
			  200203 200304 
		
		
			 Sport England (55)53.275 (56)60.775 
			 UK Sport 19.6 19.6 
		
	
	(55) Including 15 million for the School Sport Co-ordinator programme.
	(56) Including 20 million for Community Club Development Programme and 2.5 million for Sport England Modernisation.
	A further 2.7 million is to be allocated in 200304 between Sport England and UK Sport to implement the recommendations of the Coaching Task Force.

Television Licences (Pensioners)

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her most recent estimate is of the number of pensioners over 75 who are receiving a free television licence in the Selby constituency.

Kim Howells: TV Licensing, who administer the concession as agents for the BBC, are not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 5,400 people aged 75 or over living in the Selby constituency.

TRANSPORT

Cleaner Vehicles

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many UK vehicles are registered to pay reduced road tax because they use LPG fuel.

David Jamieson: The reduced rate of Vehicle Excise Duty for alternative fuels only applies to vehicles first registered after March 2001. According to DVLA (Driver and Vehicles Licensing Agency) statistics, at the end of September 2002 there were 3,112 cars registered for the reduced rate. DVLA statistics do not distinguish between liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas and hydrogen powered vehicles.

Cleaner Vehicles

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to review resources available to the Powershift programme for converting road vehicles to LPG.

David Jamieson: Full resources have been allocated to the Powershift programme for 200304 to meet all expected demandsas they have been in previous years. Within each financial year my Department continually monitors demand for PowerShift grants to ensure, in the light of other pressures, appropriate resources are available to support the wider use of cleaner fuels such as LPG. As with other Government funded programmes, future resources for PowerShift will be considered in the 2004 Spending Review

Advertising Campaigns

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns between April 2002 and March 2003; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to (a) television, (b) radio and (c) print media.

David Jamieson: The Department for Transport ran five substantive campaigns between April 2002 and March 2003.
	13.5 million was spent to promote the Think! road safety campaign messages. TV advertising cost 5.6 million, radio advertising 2.6 million and print media advertising 205,000. Other costs included cinema advertising (1.1 million) plus the costs of printing and distributing campaign materials, research, exhibition material and commissions.
	The airports consultation campaign cost 2.9 million. The majority of expenditure covered publications. Radio advertising cost 25,000 and print media advertising 274,000.
	The Traveline (public transport information line) campaign cost 45I,000 of which 274,000 was devoted to print media advertising.
	The Walk to School campaign cost 155,000this was PR based rather than using advertising.
	The Vehicle Identity Checking campaign cost 130,000 of which print media advertising cost 122,000.
	These figures are subject to final auditing to take account of any end of year adjustments.
	Departmental agencies and NDPBs also advertise and promote campaigns for the services they provide and for which they are directly responsible.

Air Transport

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what preliminary assessment has been made of the risks of birds colliding with aircraft at the Midlands New Site proposed in The Future of Air Transport in the UK Midlands, with particular reference to the gull roost at Draycote Water;
	(2)  what research has been commissioned to assess the risks of birds colliding with aircraft at the Midlands New Site proposed in The Future of Air Transport in the UK Midlands; and what plans he has to commission further research.

David Jamieson: In the background document Midlands New Site: Option Appraisal Report, Volume One: Main Report we identified the issue of birdstrike. We are considering this issue further through the analysis of the consultation responses and we will decide what further work, if any, is required in the light of these responses.

Air Transport

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria were used to determine which potential airport development sites proposed in The Future of Air Transport in the UK were considered to have a level of risk of bird strike high enough to necessitate further research; and what plans he has to commission further research.

David Jamieson: As a result of the large number of birds affected and their immediate location on, and immediately proximate to, the potential airport site at Cliffe, a preliminary assessment was carried out to assess the risk of birdstrike. The Department accepted the report's conclusion that further research would be needed to assess more fully both the risk and the most appropriate mitigating measures at this site. This further research was published on 7 April 2003.
	Existing civil licensed airports are required to have an approved bird management programme in place and this is inspected annually in safety audits undertaken by the CAA Safety Regulation Group. The CAA is actively engaged in the consultation process.
	We are considering the birdstrike issue through the analysis of the consultation responses and we will decide what further work, if any, is required in the light of these responses.

Airports

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the European Commission about the implications of an airport at Cliffe for sites designated under the (a) EU Birds Directive and (b) EU Habitats Directive; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: holding answer 10 April 2003
	During the on-going airports consultation, the European Commission has written to officials in my Department setting out the requirements of Council Directives relating to Special Protection Areas, in relation to the option for a new airport at Cliffe.
	The Government were already aware of these requirements and drew attention to them in chapter 11.17 of the south-east consultation document.

Airports

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds of assessing the liability, within the SERAS process, of options other than those at Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted and Cliffe.

David Jamieson: The cost of developing SERAS options at locations other than those listed above is estimated at 250,000. Specific costs of appraising these options as part of the SERAS process are not available.

Airports

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many responses he has received concerning Alconbury Airfield following the commencement of the most recent public consultation entitled The Future Development of Air Transport in the UK (South-East).

David Jamieson: The information requested is not available as we do not, as yet, have numbers broken down by consultation option.

Airports

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the safety of a new airport in the Cliffe area of North Kent with reference to the Government commissioned report into bird hits in that area; and what action he intends to take as a result;
	(2)  what his assessment is of the comparative risk from bird hits of the various new airport capacity options for the south-east;
	(3)  if he will withdraw the Cliffe New Hub airport option from consultation; and if he will make a statement on its study on the potential safety risks from birds at and around Cliffe Marshes.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of State for Transport's written statement of 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 1WS, which announced publication of a further report into the risks of birds colliding with aircraft at the option for a new airport at Cliffe. Section five of that report assesses the overall risk and includes a comparison with other airports in the UK. Copies of the report are available in the Libraries of the House.
	The Government will consider this report carefully, together with all consultation responses before final decisions are taken. These will be set out in a White Paper, which we aim to publish later this year.

Airports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what public funds will be committed to the development of Finningley airport and related infrastructure, including (a) roads and (b) rail links.

David Jamieson: We are not aware that any application for public funding in connection with the development of Finningley airport or related infrastructure has been made at the present time.

Airports

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the (a) timescale and (b) process for decision-making on a third runway at Heathrow.

David Jamieson: Consultation on The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom ends on 30 June 2003. The Government plan to issue a White Paper by the end of the year, which will provide a strategic policy framework for future airport development, including any new runways.

Airports

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which properties will be compulsorily purchased if the Government give permission for the third runway at Heathrow; and how these properties will be valued and compensation to owners determined.

David Jamieson: If any option is supported in the White Paper, it would be for a promoter to work up the detailed design and project definition and seek statutory authorisation. Any compulsory purchase of property would be carried out in accordance with the prevailing statutory arrangements; the current position is summarised in chapter 19 of the consultation document, The Future Development of Air Transport in the United KingdomSouth East.

Aviation Industry

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what aid has been given to airline companies since 11 September 2001; and what plans he has to give further financial assistance.

David Jamieson: Following the closure of US, Israeli and central London airspace in the period immediately following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, financial assistance totalling 39.7 million, authorised by the European Commission, was paid out to 11 UK airline companies in compensation.
	It is Government policy that the aviation industry should cover its full operating costs, including those incurred through increased security arrangements following 11 September. To this extent, we have no current plans to provide any further financial assistance to the airline companies.
	Following 11 September, the UK Government also underwrote, on a temporary basis, third party war risk insurance for UK airlines, airports and service providers to the airline industry. Although insurance against war and terrorism risks is currently available on the commercial market the Government remain prepared to intervene in the case of market failurethough there is no indication, at present, that this will be necessary.

Bus Services

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the PlusBus ticket scheme; and what plans he has to extend this scheme to the whole of the United Kingdom.

David Jamieson: Journey Solutions, which was set up and is funded by the passenger transport industry, is responsible for the PlusBus scheme. PlusBus is a ticket that provides a simple add-on bus option to rail tickets at either or both ends of a train journey. It is currently available at 90 stations across the National Rail network in England, Wales and Scotland, and will be available at a further 10 stations by May 2003. Journey Solutions intends that PlusBus will be progressively rolled out until every major town and city in Great Britain is covered.
	Decisions on further extension of the scheme will be made by Journey Solutions and its industry stakeholders, in consultation with my Department and the Devolved Administrations.

Disabled Access

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made since 1997 in improving disabled access to public transport; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Regulations have been made under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). These set standards of access for disabled people, which have applied to all new trains (since the end of 1998), and all new buses and coaches used on local and scheduled service with a capacity of more than 22 passengers (since the end of 2000). Proposals for regulations applying to taxis will be brought forward later this year. Transport infrastructure is covered by Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act which requires the removal of policies or practices that discriminate and, from 2004, the removal of physical barriers to access.
	In addition we have accepted the recommendations on transport made by the Disability Rights Task Force. These include extending some of the requirements of Part III of the DDA to cover vehicles, setting an end date by which all trains in service must be accessible and taking powers to introduce regulations to apply to the refurbishment of trains. We have just completed consultation on the first of these sets of proposals and will shortly publish a consultation paper on the second.

Disabled Access

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with rail companies on improving disabled access to (a) trains and (b) train stations; what progress has been made; and what assistance the Government have provided for these measures since 1997.

David Jamieson: My Department is in regular contact with rail companies to encourage best practice on access to trains and stations and to offer advice on compliance with the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (RVAR) which requires all new trains to be accessible to disabled people.
	In addition, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) published its Code of Practice on Train and Station Services for Disabled Passengers which covers access to trains and stations. Under the code the SRA has asked passenger train and station operators to review their Disabled People's Protection Policy to ensure that there is a commitment to accessibility wherever new work or a refurbishment takes place. As part of the review train operating companies will be identifying the current levels of accessibility at their stations and will be detailing what short term solutions have been identified to provide an alternative means of using the train service where physical barriers preclude this.

Employment Relations Act

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in his Department have taken time off from work in order to attend to domestic incidents as provided for by the Employment Relations Act 1999.

David Jamieson: The Department for Transport does not maintain separate records of time off from work taken by its staff, in order to attend to domestic incidents as provided for by the Employment Relations Act 1999.

Exhibitions

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list events at which his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible have exhibited in each of the last three years, stating for each (a) the purpose of exhibiting, (b) the cost of exhibiting and (c) the number of staff attending for the exhibition.

David Jamieson: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ferry Services

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to relocate Stranraer railway station after the cessation of passenger ferry services from Stranraer.

David Jamieson: There are no current plans to relocate Stranraer railway station.

Ferry Services

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on employment conditions of non-UK citizens on ferries from UK ports.

David Jamieson: The United Kingdom has ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 180 on limiting seafarers' working hours and the related Protocols to ILO 147 which provides for the enforcement of ILO 180 on all sea-going ships calling at UK ports.
	We also intend to ratify ILO Convention 178 concerning the implementation of seafarers' working and living conditions.
	All UK registered ships are required to have crew agreements, covering both UK and non-UK citizens, which either comply with one of the UK's two standard agreements, or which have been approved by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The MCA checks crew agreements to ensure that they comply with the ILO Convention on Articles of Agreement, and also comply with relevant UK merchant shipping legislation.

Ferry Services

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed on ferries operating from UK ports; and of those, how many are (a) UK, (b) other EU and (c) non-EU citizens.

David Jamieson: The Department does not compile information on the nationalities of seafarers employed on ferries operating from UK ports.

Freight Facilities Grants

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 21 January 2003, Official Report, column 205W, on freight facilities grant, what the expected expenditure is on Freight Facilities Grants by (a) the Strategic Rail Authority in England, (b) the Scottish Executive in Scotland and (c) the Welsh Assembly in Wales is in each year from 200102 to 200405.

David Jamieson: SRA outturn expenditure for rail freight facilities grants in 200102 was 32.8 million. Its current outturn estimate for 200203 is 27.8 million.
	Indicative SRA budgets for freight facilities grants in 200304 and 200405 are 20 million per year.
	Freight grant expenditure and budgets for Wales and Scotland are matters for the respective Devolved Administrations.

London Underground

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to change the operating hours of (a) Rotherhithe station, (b) Canada Water station and (c) Surrey Quays station on the London Underground East London line; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: holding answer 11 April 2003
	This is an operational matter for London Underground, who inform me that they have no plans to alter the operating hours of these stations.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been for each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement on their role.

David Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) role is to provide a 24-hour maritime search and rescue function, to survey and inspect ships, and to protect the marine environment.
	The budgets of the MCA since 1997 are set out in the table:
	
		000
		
			  Budget 
		
		
			  
			  
			 199798 (57) 
			 199899 86,491 
			 19992000 92,672 
			 200001 99,816 
			 200102 108,641 
			 200203 111,662 
		
	
	(57) Not applicable. The MCA came into being on 1 April 1998.

Market Research

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what expenditure has been incurred by his (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental bodies in 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if he will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each.

David Jamieson: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Motorcycles

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the issue of illegal use of off-road motorcycles in (a) the last three years and (b) the last six years.

David Jamieson: We have received 10 letters about off-road motorcycles from Members of Parliament from 2000 to 2003 and five from 1997 to 1999.

Motorcycles

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake a review of legislation relating to the illegal use of off-road motorcycles and other vehicles on public highways, cycle paths and pedestrian areas.

David Jamieson: There are already sufficient powers to regulate the use of motorcycles off-road, and we do not see the need for a review of the legislation.
	A vehicleeven if specifically designed for off-road useused on the public highway should comply with the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. The rider should also hold a current driving licence, vehicle excise duty, insurance, and wear a safety helmet. A motorcyclist riding an off-road machine on a road could be prosecuted for failing to comply with these requirements.
	There is no evidence to suggest that other vehicles are being used illegally to cause serious problems.

Motorcycles

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals for a minimum age restriction for the use of off-road motorcycles.

David Jamieson: There is no evidence of any problem with off-road riders to justify legislation.

Motorcycles

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals for (a) a statutory driving licence for the use of off road motorcycles and (b) a national registration scheme.

David Jamieson: The riders of motorcycles used both on and off road are required to have a driving licence. Should scramble bikes be used solely off road there is no requirement for a driving licence, and we do not believe it would be justified.
	A national registration scheme for all off road motorcycles would be costly to set up and administer.

Motorcycles

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish the public consultation paper on off road motorcycling; and what the remit of that consultation will be.

David Jamieson: We are not consulting on off road motorcycling.

Motorcycles

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many charges for breach of the peace and causing a nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1993 have been brought by local authorities against the nuisance use of off-road motorcycles.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	National data are not collected to this level of detail.
	Voluntary returns from 308 (82 per cent.) of English and Welsh Local Authorities reported that in 200102, 1,548 abatement notices were issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in response to noise nuisance related to commercial and leisure (including sporting) activities.
	Source:
	Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), 2002.

National Insurance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost will be to public funds in 200304 of the rise in national insurance contributions on the salary bill of his Department.

David Jamieson: It is estimated that the changes to employers' national insurance contributions announced in the Budget will increase pay costs on average by 0.7 per cent. next year.

Parental Leave

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in his Department have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive since it came into force.

David Jamieson: Since Parental Leave was introduced in 1999 there have been only three recorded requests. The Department has special leave with pay provisions which offer more favourable terms for taking leave to undertake parental responsibilities than the statutory scheme applying under Parental Leave Directive.

Port Strike

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessors were appointed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in December 2001 to observe the transitional arrangements made by Associated British Ports to overcome the strike by their former pilots on the Humber.

David Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) appointed one independent, self-employed assessor. He was a Master Mariner and former ferry master with a wealth of experience.

Press Office

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed in his Department's press office; and how many were employed on 2 May 1997.

David Jamieson: There are 16.8 permanent press officers (full-time equivalent) currently employed in the DfT press office. This figure excludes administrative staff who provide a pooled support service to the Communication Directorate (of which the press office is part).
	Detailed information on the numbers of permanent press officers employed in departmental press offices, including the former Department of Transport, during the financial year 199798 was provided in a memorandum dated 16 June 1998 to the Select Committee on Public Administration and published in its report on the Government Information and Communication Service (HC 770) in July 1998. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Private Finance Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the expected saving to public funds from the private finance initiative schemes due to become operational in 2003.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary on 10 April 2003, Official Report, column 400W.

Property Portfolio

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated value is of the property portfolio held by his Department.

David Jamieson: The estimated value of the property portfolio is 7,487,476 excluding agencies sponsored by the Department.

Rail Services (West Midlands)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with train operators about the proposed cuts in services between Ashchurch and Birmingham; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: holding answer 11 April 2003
	The Strategic Rail Authority's decision on the timetable changes announced on 16 January and 24 February 2003 was made in agreement with the relevant train operating companies.

Railway Rolling Stock

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will quantify the (a) increase in electricity generation required and (b) consequent implications for climate change arising from the replacement of Mark 1 Rolling Stock with units requiring extra power to be provided for their operation.

David Jamieson: I understand that, for the Southern Region as a whole, demand on the grid supply is expected to increase from the existing maximum of 648 megawatts to about 800 megawatts. Supplying the extra power will be a matter for the electricity generating industry and will be subject to the relevant rules on environmental protection.

Regions White Paper

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made by the Department towards the aim in the White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, of encouraging applicants to public bodies from all parts of England; and what change there has been in the geographical diversity of appointees to NDPBs and other public bodies sponsored by the Department since the publication of the White Paper.

John Spellar: All opportunities for appointments to NDPBs and public bodies sponsored by my Department are advertised nationally through the press and through the Department's website. When appropriate, this may be supplemented by more targeted publicity. For example, ministerial chair appointments on the eight regional Rail Passenger Committees (NDPBs) may be advertised locally as well as nationally depending on circumstances.
	All appointments are made on merit in accordance with the Commission's Public Appointments' Code of Practice. My Department does not monitor the geographical diversity of public appointments. Between 14 May 2002 and 31 March 2003, 16 appointments and re-appointments were made.
	My Department, as the then DTLR, took part in all the regional seminars for women held during 2002 by the Women and Equality Unit.

Roads (Noise Reduction)

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  pursuant to his written statement of 1 April 2003, Official Report, column 49WS, on trunk roads, when he will announce the concrete roads due to be resurfaced from April 2007;
	(2)  what budget has been allocated for noise reduction work on concrete roads and motorways for (a) 200304 and (b) 200405;
	(3)  what percentage of the money allocated for noise reduction work on the motorway network for 200203 was spent;
	(4)  what criteria are used for selecting which roads should be resurfaced for noise reduction.

David Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. Oaten, dated 14 April 2003
	David Jamieson has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about noise reduction measures on the trunk road and motorway network.
	In 200203, the Agency spent 5.9 million on noise mitigation measures such as noise barriers on trunk roads and motorways, against a ring fenced annual budget of 5 million. In addition, it is our policy to use low-noise surfacing whenever a road surface needs renewing. In 200203, 235 million was spent on resurfacing trunk roads and motorways, two per cent. above the budget for this work.
	For 200304, the allocation for resurfacing concrete trunk roads and motorways is 52 million. The programme for 200405 is currently still under development. We shall be resurfacing the highest priority sections of concrete road ahead of maintenance need, in order to reduce traffic noise.
	Following consultation with local highways authorities and others, the following criteria were announced on 17 October 2001 for prioritising the surfacing of concrete roads with quieter material:
	(i) that wherever possible the application of quieter surfaces will fit in with normal maintenance needs;
	(ii) that priority will be given to those sites where treatment would benefit the greatest number of people;
	(iii) that the works will be carried out in such a way to minimise disruption to the general public and users of the network;
	(iv) that priority will be given to roads, opened since June 1988, where actual noise levels have turned out to be significantly higher than predicted at the time of the public inquiry.
	These criteria have been used to prioritise the list of schemes announced on 1 April. The main determinants of priority are the number of properties affected (proxy for criterion ii) and for newer roads, the increase in noise levels above those predicted at public inquiry (criterion iv). The high priority group is defined by sections of road which affect more than 100 properties per km or for which the current noise level is at least 3 dB(A) greater than predicted at public inquiry (an increase of 3 dB(A) is equivalent to the noise increase expected from a doubling of the volume of traffic on a road). The medium priority group is defined by sections of road which affect more than 10 properties per km or for which the current noise level is 1 dB(A) greater than predicted at public inquiry, which equates to a noticeable noise increase.
	It is expected that the sections indicated as having a high priority will be completed by the end of March 2007, subject to funding being available. We expect to resurface sections of road in the medium or low priority groups between April 2007 and March 2011, subject to funding being available. Where there is an identified maintenance need, some of the medium or low priority sections may be resurfaced earlier, for road safety reasons.
	If you need any further information, please contact Martin Steward at the Highways Agency, Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BL telephone number 0121 678 8324.

Rural Transport

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of the policies of passenger transport executives on services in the rural areas adjacent to the area of such passenger transport executives; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: I have made no such assessment.

Rural Transport

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applicants from the South East for funding under the Rural Transport Partnership Fund have (a) been rejected and (b) are awaiting funding.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	159 applications for Rural Transport Partnership project grants have been received from the South East in 20022003. Of these 143 have been approved, five rejected and seven are awaiting a decision on their application. All successful Rural Transport Partnership Grant applications can access their agreed funding without any delay.
	For the pending applications, the Countryside Agency is either waiting for applicants to provide a business plan, missing information or are obtaining specialist advice on the application.

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many individuals have been seconded to his Department from (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, in each case listing (i) from which organisation and (ii) dates of secondments, in (A) 200102 and (B) 200203.

David Jamieson: The information requested is listed in the following two tables.
	
		Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regionsinward secondments 200102
		
			  Start End 
			 Organisation Year Month Year Month 
		
		
			 NGOstwo 
			 Audit Commission (NDPB) 2002 January 2003 January 
			 Audit Commission (NDPB) 2001 October 2002 October 
			  
			 Private Sector13 
			 ADFC Ltd. 2001 September 2002 September 
			 Home Group Ltd. 2002 February 2003 February 
			 Accord plc 2001 September 2002 September 
			 The Security Service 2000 August 2002 September 
			 Rosebery Housing 2001 June 2003 May 
			 SERCO Ltd. 2001 June 2002 September 
			 Railtrack 2000 December 2003 November 
			 Savage Crangle Partners 2001 October 2002 October 
			 Pricewaterhousecoopers 2001 September 2002 September 
			 British Telecom 2000 July 2001 July 
			 Railtrack 2001 July 2004 September 
			 Halcrow Ltd. 2000 October 2002 October 
			 Babtie Group Ltd. 2001 September 2002 September 
			 PEP Ltd. (Priority Estate Project) 2001 June 2003 June 
			  
			 Other81 
			 Essex Fire Service 2001 February 2003 January 
			 Manchester cc 2001 January 2003 April 
			 Devon Fire Brigade 2001 October 2003 October 
			 Housing Corporation 2000 February 2003 April 
			 University of East London 2002 May 2004 May 
			 Cambridgeshire CC 2000 October 2002 October 
			 Crime Concern 2000 January 2003 December 
			 Assoc of London Government 1999 June 2002 October 
			 Urban Projects 2002 July 2003 July 
			 South Wales File Service 2001 July 2003 July 
			 CPEA Ltd. 2002 May 2003 May 
			 Civil Aviation Authority 2001 June 2003 June 
			 Suffolk Fire Service 2001 July 2003 July 
			 Sheffield Hallam University 2001 October 2002 October 
			 Royal Berkshire Fire Service 1996 March 2003 August 
			 Housing Corporation 2001 September 2002 September 
			 LB Haringey 2002 February 2002 September 
			 Hampshire County Council 2000 September 2002 September 
			 Development Trust Association 1999 August 2004 July 
			 Voluntary Service Council 2001 October 2002 September 
			 GLAGreater London Authority 2002 March 2003 March 
			 London Fire Brigade 2002 January 2004 January 
			 Basildon District Council 2001 July 2003 July 
			 Somerset Homes 2001 May 2004 May 
			 Business In The Community 2001 April 2004 April 
			 Knowsley Borough Council 2001 July 2003 January 
			 Calderdale MBC 2001 May 2003 May 
			 LB Newham 2002 September 2003 May 
			 Bedfordshire Fire Service 2001 April 2003 April 
			 Bradford MDC 2002 February 2004 February 
			 Housing Corporation 2001 September 2003 September 
			 Architecture Foundation 2002 May 2002 October 
			 Shelter 2002 August 2003 April 
			 Safer Merthyr Tydfil 2000 May 2003 April 
			 Oxford cc 2002 Mar 2003 February 
			 Swedish Rail Traffic Admin 2002 May 2002 August 
			 Help the Aged (was LB Camden until June 2002) 2001 November 2003 March 
			 Irwell Valley Housing Association 2002 June 2003 June 
			 Lanes Fire Rescue 2002 January 2004 January 
			 Hertfordshire Fire Service 2000 July 2002 July 
			 Newham Council 2002 January 2003 January 
			 Norfolk Police 2001 January 2004 January 
			 London Thames Gateway Forum 2002 August 2003 August 
			 Bristol cc 2001 April 2003 March 
			 South Wales Fire Service 1994 December 2002 November 
			 Tyne and Wear Fire Authority 2001 February 2003 March 
			 London Fire Brigade 2002 May 2003 May 
			 London Fire Authority 2001 June 2003 June 
			 Greater London Enterprise 2001 September 2002 December 
			 Kirklees Council 2000 November 2002 November 
			 Sutton CC 2001 July 2002 October 
			 Birmingham CC 2001 September 2003 March 
			 The Church of England 1999 May 2003 May 
			 Trafford Town Hall 2000 September 2002 September 
			 London Fire Authority 2001 June 2003 May 
			 East Sussex Fire Brigade 2002 February 2004 February 
			 South Yorkshire Fire Service 2001 July 2003 July 
			 Leicester Fire Services 1999 September 2002 September 
			 CAA 2002 December   
			 Buckinghamshire County Council 2001 October 2002 October 
			 ENCAMS 2002 January 2003 April 
			 Bedfordshire Fire Service 2000 February 2003 February 
			 Inner London Probation Service 2001 March 2005 March 
			 London Voluntary Service Council 2001 October 2003 September 
			 West Somerset District Council 2002 January 2002 September 
			 Lambeth County Council 2001 July 2003 July 
			 London Fire Authority 2001 September 2003 September 
			 National Housing Federation 2001 October 2002 September 
			 London Borough of Camden 2002 September 2003 May 
			 Kent Fire Service 2001 December 2003 November 
			 Essex County Council 2001 May 2003 May 
			 Birmingham CC 2001 June 2002 December 
			 West Sussex Fire Service 2001 January 2003 March 
			 Surrey County Council 2002 January 2003 July 
			 Tower Hamlets 2001 April 2003 March 
			 Merseyside Fire Brigade 2002 March 2003 February 
			 Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust 2002 April 2003 March 
			 Kent County Council 2001 March 2003 March 
			 Serco Local Government 2002 March 2002 August 
			 Manchester Police 2000 December 2002 December 
			 London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority 2001 February 2003 January 
		
	
	
		DfT inward secondments 200203
		
			  Start End 
			 Organisation Year Month Year Month 
		
		
			 Privatetwo 
			 Railtrack (Network Rail) 2000 December 2003 November 
			 The Security Service 2000 September 2002 September 
			  
			 Otherseven 
			 Civil Aviation Authority 2001 June 2003 June 
			 Japanese Government 2003 April 2003 September 
			 University of the West of England 2002 February 2004 February 
			 Norfolk Police 2001 January 2004 January 
			 CAA 2002 December   
			 Buckinghamshire County Council 2001 October 2003 October 
			 Swedish Rail Traffic Admin   2002 August

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants have been seconded from his Department to (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, broken down by (i) grade of civil servants seconded, (ii) location and (iii) dates of secondments, in (A) 200102 and (B) 200203.

David Jamieson: The information requested is listed in the tables.
	
		Department for Transport, Local Government and the RegionsOutward Secondments 200102
		
			   Start End 
			 Grade Location Year Month Year Month 
		
		
			 Private4 
			 SEO England 2000 September 2002 January 
			 G7 England 2001 February 2001 August 
			 G7 England 2001 July 2002 March 
			 G7 England 2001 April 2002 June 
			 Other-76 
			 HEO EC 1999 November 2001 April 
			 HEO EC 2001 November 2003 April 
			 G6 Other international 1994 May 2002 December 
			 HEO EC 2001 August 2004 August 
			 G7 England 2001 September 2002 September 
			 SEO Other international 2001 August 2004 August 
			 G7 Other international 1998 March 2001 April 
			 EO England 2001 March 2001 September 
			 SPTO EC 2001 June 2004 May 
			 G7 EC 2000 November 2001 August 
			 G7 EC 2000 May 2003 April 
			 HEO Scotland 1997 June 2002 March 
			 SEO England 2002 March 2002 June 
			 HEO EC 2001 April 2002 July 
			 SCS Other international 1993 January 2002 November 
			 SCS England 2001 November 2003 November 
			 G7 EC 2000 September 2001 May 
			 G7 England 1998 March 2005 March 
			 HEO England 2001 October 2002 May 
			 SPTO EC 1999 November 2002 October 
			 EO Other international 1998 April 2003 January 
			 SIO England 1998 March 2002 August 
			 G7 England 2000 September 2002 September 
			 G7 England 2000 August 2002 August 
			 SEO EC 2000 January 2001 July 
			 HEO EC 2001 February 2001 August 
			 G7 EC 1999 September 2001 June 
			 HEO England 2001 March 2001 December 
			 SEO EC 2001 November 2003 May 
			 HEO England 2001 June 2002 June 
			 HEO EC 2001 June 2004 May 
			 SEO EC 1998 November 2001 November 
			 SEO Other international 2001 December 2004 December 
			 HEO England 2000 June 2001 December 
			 SEO England 2001 April 2001 July 
			 SEO England 1998 March 2003 January 
			 G7 England 2000 June 2001 May 
			 HEO(D) EC 2001 September 2002 March 
			 SEC England 1998 March ? ? 
			 G7 England 2001 March 2001 July 
			 G7 EC 2001 March 2002 February 
			 SEO England 1999 April 2001 October 
			 SEO England 1998 March 2001 August 
			 HEO England 2001 December 2002 February 
			 G7 Other international 2000 December 2002 September 
			 HEO(D) EC 2000 February 2001 November 
			 HEO England 2000 June 2002 March 
			 HEO EC 2002 February 2002 August 
			 HEO(D) EC 2000 April 2002 June 
			 G7 England 2001 January 2001 April 
			 G7 England 2001 October 2002 September 
			 G7 England 2001 October 2002 February 
			 EO England 2001 December 2002 December 
			 G7 England 2001 February 2002 August 
			 SCS England 2002 March 2004 March 
			 EO EC 2001 June 2002 May 
			 G7 EC 2000 May 2002 April 
			 EO EC 2001 February 2001 August 
			 HEO England 2000 December 2002 December 
			 SCS England 2001 March 2004? March 
			 HEO England 2000 June 2001 July 
			 G7 England 2000 February 2002 March 
			 G7 EC 1999 October 2002 October 
			 HEO England 2001 July 2002 July 
			 SEO EC 2000 October 2002 January 
			 G7 Other international 1999 September 2001 December 
			 HEO England 2001 July 2002 April 
			 G7 England 2000 December 2002 December 
			 G7 England 2001 June 2002 January 
			 G7 England 2001 April 2001 November 
			 HEO(D) EC 2001 September 2002 March 
			 SCS England 1996 April ? ? 
			 G7 England 1999 September 2001 June 
			 G7 EC 1998 June 2001 May 
			 SCS England 2000 July 2001 May 
			 HEO EC 1998 January 2001 December 
		
	
	NGOsNone
	
		Department for TransportOutward secondments 20023
		
			   Start End  
			 Grade Location Year Month Year Month 
		
		
			 Private2 
			 HEO(D) England 2002 October 2004 April 
			 G7 England 2002 September 2004 March 
			 Other24 
			 HEO EC 2001 August 2004 1-August 
			 HEO Other international 2001 August 2004 August 
			 G7 EC 2003 March 2003 September 
			 SEO EC 2001 June 2004 May 
			 SCS England 1999 February 2003 April 
			 HEO EC 2003 September 2004 March 
			 AO Other international   2003 November 
			 G7 England 2002 September 2004 September 
			 SCS England 2002 November 2005 November 
			 SES Other international 1993 January 2003 November 
			 SEO EC 1999 November 2003 ?Nov? 
			 HEO(D) Other international 1998 April 2003 January 
			 G7 England 2000 August 2004 August 
			 HEO EC 2001 June 2004 May 
			 SEO Other international 2001 December 2006 January 
			 HEO(D) England 2002 November   
			 G7 EC 2001 March 2005 February 
			 G7 England 2003 March 2004 March 
			 SEO Other international 2003 January   
			 EO EC 2001 May 2003 February 
			 HEO England 2000 December 2003 December 
			 HEO England 2001 July 2003 August 
			 HEO England 1998 May   
			 AO England 1999 September 2003 April 
		
	
	NGOsNone

Sickness Absence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in his Department were on long term sick leave in each of the last five years.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 23 January 2003, Official Report, column 518W.

South African Driving Licences

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to ensure that people driving in the United Kingdom on South African driving licences are qualified to do so.

David Jamieson: Following South Africa's request to have its driving licences recognised for licence exchange purpose, the driver testing and licensing standards in that country were assessed by Departmental officials and found to be satisfactory and comparable to those in GB. As a result from 2 July 1999 residents in Great Britain with valid South African licences have been able to exchange them for British licences without passing a further driving test.

Statutory Instruments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the statutory instruments issued by his Department in the last 12 months, indicating (a) the purpose of each and (b) the cost of each to (i) public funds, (ii) businesses and (iii) individuals.

David Jamieson: The Department for Transport was formed on 29 May 2002. From that date until 31 March 2003 the Department issued 117 general statutory instruments and 1,156 local statutory instruments. The purpose of each instrument is explained in its explanatory note.
	The Department does not have the information requested concerning the actual cost of implementing the instruments in question. However, in the case of a number of instruments a regulatory impact assessment was prepared which indicates the likely cost of the measure on business, charities and the voluntary sector. Copies of these assessments will have been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament.
	The general instruments referred to above have been placed in the Libraries of the House. The list identifies those for which a regulatory impact assessment was prepared.

Thelwall Viaduct

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many vehicles on the M6 use the Thelwall viaduct each day;
	(2)  what plans his Department has made to ensure that the Thelwall viaduct is opened as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what plans he has for re-routing traffic in the north-west in order to minimise the disruption caused by the closing of the Thelwall viaduct;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the economic impact on local business of the closing of the Thelwall viaduct;
	(5)  what estimate his Department has made of how long it will take to repair the Thelwall viaduct; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the longevity of the Thelwall viaduct after the repairs; and whether there are plans to avoid similar problems in the future.

David Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. Woodward, dated 14 April 2003
	I have been asked by David Jamieson to reply to your six recent Parliamentary Questions about ongoing works to the northbound bridge of the M6 Motorway Thelwall Viaduct, in Cheshire.
	The Highways Agency is responsible for the operation, management, maintenance, and improvement of the trunk road and motorway network in England, including the Thelwall Viaduct, which typically carries some 150,000160,000 vehicles per day. All but one lane of the northbound viaduct was closed in July 2002, following the discovery of a failed roller bearing.
	Detailed investigation has concluded that all 136 roller bearings on the northbound viaduct should be replaced before further traffic lanes can be opened on the viaduct. The increased scale of the problem has led to a thorough analysis of all the issues on the viaduct and, over the course of the next few months, this further work will enable us to establish a realistic programme for the works.
	The current restrictions comprise three narrow lanes in each direction on the new southbound viaduct and a single lane on the northbound viaduct, to facilitate traffic leaving the M6 at Junction 21, in Warrington. There are advance warning signs on all the motorway approaches to the works advising of likely delays, but there is no convenient diversion route using the motorway network. Traffic could be diverted along the M62, M60, M56, and A556, but this would add around 15 miles to journey lengths, and parts of this diversion are already at full capacity during peak periods. We will continue to monitor traffic patterns closely and keep under review all possible diversion routes to mitigate the effect of the restrictions.
	Laboratory testing and investigations into how the bearings have failed is substantially complete. These findings will be used to inform the design process for the replacement of the bearings and associated works required to bring the structure back fully into long-term service. A different kind of bearing has been specified to replace the failed roller bearings. We are content that these bearings will not be susceptible to the same failure as the existing bearings, and that there is no risk of a repetition of the problem. Our thorough maintenance inspection regime revealed the current problems and this regime will continue to monitor the condition of this and our other bridges in future years.
	We are conscious of the effects that restrictions on the viaduct are having on local businesses, and are working closely with affected stakeholders, in particular Warrington Borough Council, to identify the scale of the impact on the local community. Traffic-count information on both motorways and the local road network is being collected to enable the changes in driving patterns to be quantified and appropriate mitigation measures devised.
	We are currently looking at a phased re-opening of lanes on the northbound viaduct. Initially, the strategy will be to open a second lane on the northbound viaduct at the earliest opportunity. This will enable four running lanes to be reinstated in each direction and should significantly reduce delays for southbound traffic, which is currently restricted to three lanes.
	I hope this is helpful. If you would like any further information about this matter, you may wish to contact the Agency's Project Manager for the viaduct repairs, Paul Hupton, Room 703, Sunley Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester, Ml 4BE (Tel 0161 930 5641).

Transport Police

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the role of the (a) Mersey Tunnels Police Force and (b) British Transport Police in the context of a major emergency.

David Jamieson: The Mersey Tunnels Police Force's jurisdiction is the Mersey Tunnels, the approaches and any marshalling area. A written accord exists between the Tunnels Police and Merseyside Police of close co-operation in the event of a major emergency where the tunnels are involved.
	The British Transport Police (BTP) play a full part in the British police service within their railways jurisdiction, including the response to any national emergencies. The response to any major incident on the railways would be a matter for a joint response involving the BTP and the local police force.

Travel Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was of travel by train by staff in his Department in 2002.

David Jamieson: My Department came into existence on 29 May 2002 following Machinery of Government changes.
	Staff in the Department for Transport must use the most efficient and economic means of travel commensurate with meeting operational needs. They are encouraged to use public transport wherever practicable rather than the use of cars in accordance with the Governments policy on Green Transport. The estimated cost of travel by train for the period 1 June 2002 to 31 March 2003 was 783,000.

Trunk Roads

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research evidence underpins the work of the Highways Agency in deciding the best environmental protection measures for major trunk road developments, with particular reference to motorway widening.

David Jamieson: The Highways Agency's approach in deciding the best environmental protection measures for major trunk road development is founded on advice contained within the Agency's Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. This advice is supported by the results of research undertaken by the Agency and others. Details of the Agency's research activities can be found in the research compendium on the Highways Agency website.

CABINET OFFICE

Regions White Paper

Joyce Quin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what progress the Cabinet Office has made towards the goal set out in the White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, of (a) ensuring that regional awareness and devolution feature strongly in civil service training and development, (b) increasing the mobility of civil servants between headquarters offices, regional offices, and the Government Offices and (c) encouraging interchange between the civil service and organisations in the regions;
	(2)  what progress has been made within the civil service towards the goal set out in the White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, of (a) ensuring that regional awareness and devolution feature strongly in civil service training and development, (b) increasing the mobility of civil servants between headquarters offices, regional offices, and the Government Offices and (c) encouraging interchange between the civil service and organisations in the regions.

Douglas Alexander: Training programmes include discussions of the regional implications of policy development as appropriate. The CMPS Partnership Programme takes course members to the regions to see the implementation of policy in action. Other courses have case studies and speakers that examine regional issues. In addition a number of specific programmes are offered which include: Working with the devolved administrations and Devolution in action.
	All moves of civil servants between departments are made in the best interests of the business of the departments concerned. The mobility of staff between HQ policy and regionally based directorates and Government Offices (GOs) is an important part of departments' HR strategy to deliver the Government's regional agenda. Information on mobility between regions, HQs and GOs is not held centrally.
	Awareness of the value of interchange is recognised and promoted in each of the nine Government Office regions in line with the objectives set out in the White Paper. The Cabinet Office Interchange Unit has run a series of events in each of the Government Office regions to bring together representatives from civil service departments and other organisations to encourage interchanges at regional level and to help deliver the Government's programme of neighbourhood regeneration through sharing relevant skills and experience between sectors.

HEALTH

Care Orders

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in England were subject to a care order under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Jacqui Smith: The number of children in England looked after by local authorities and the number on a full care order between 1998 and 2002 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  All children Full care orders 
		
		
			 1998 53,300 25,900 
			 1999 55,500 27,400 
			 2000 58,100 28,500 
			 2001 58,900 29,800 
			 2002 59,700 29,600 
		
	
	Source:
	SSDA903, a return completed by local authorities providing data on a one-third sample of their looked after children.

Care Orders

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts and primary care trusts had patient advice and liaison services with staff in post on 1 April in (a) England, (b) London and (c) the South West London Strategic Health Authority.

David Lammy: Trusts are responsible for establishing and staffing their own services. 97 per cent. of trusts in England provide a patient advice and liaison service (PALS). There is 100 per cent. coverage within the London and South West London Strategic Health Authority areas, although the Department does not hold details of the number of staff working within PALS.
	A list of PALS is available at http://www.doh.gov.uk/patientadviceandliaisonservices/

AAT Deficiency

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to make AAT deficiency a priority in medical schools.

John Hutton: Ministers do not determine the curriculum of university medical schools. Individual university medical schools determine their own undergraduate medical curriculum in the light of recommendations from the General Medical Council's education committee, which has the statutory responsibility to determine the extent of the knowledge and skill required for the granting of primary medical qualifications in the United Kingdom.

Assisted Conception

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients who had received treatment at Leeds General Infirmary's Assisted Conception Unit before November 2002 have since taken DNA tests;
	(2)  whether the Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust will make public how many families are at risk from errors of procedure made at Leeds General Infirmary's Assisted Conception Unit; and how many families have been informed of this risk.

Hazel Blears: The Leeds Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Trust believes this incident to be an extremely rare occurrence. Since then, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has asked clinics to put new procedures in place to minimise risks even further. The judgment issued last November in the High Court of Justice and the statement issued by the trust made clear that any patient with concerns should discuss them with the trust. Those discussions are a matter for the trust and its patients. So far, five people have raised concerns with the trust, three families have received counselling and one family is considering DNA testing. So far, no one has taken a DNA test.

Children in Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 31 March 2003, Official Report, columns 3940WS, on children in care, how many and what percentage of female looked-after children (a) had a child, (b) had an abortion and (c) became pregnant in 1998.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not currently collected at national level. Work is under way to establish the feasibility of obtaining information about births among looked-after children, taking account of legal and confidentiality considerations.

Children in Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his written statement of 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 39WS on children in care, if he will make it his policy to apply the targets set for children who have been in care for one year or more to adopted children; and against what targets his Department measures performance in relation to adopted children.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 9 April 2003
	Close monitoring of adoptive placements can be disruptive and could lead to unnecessary stress for children and their adoptive families. It is therefore not the Government's policy to set specific targets on educational attainment for adopted children.
	The Government's priority is to increase the number of children adopted from care while not compromising the quality and stability of adoptive placements. The most effective measure of performance is to deliver adoptive placements that last and that are properly supported.
	However, we recognise that the child's educational needs may need very careful consideration as part of any assessment of the child's adoption support needs.
	The Government are committed to improving the current system of adoption support. That is why we will shortly be publishing finalised regulations and guidance for a new national framework for adoption support and backing this with 70 million over the next three years from April 2003.
	Government targets to increase the numbers of children adopted from care and speed up the adoption process are included in Improvement, Expansion and Reform: The Next Three Years Priorities and Planning Framework 20032006, copies of which are available in the Library.

Children's Trusts

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which boroughs have applied to be Children's Trusts; and how co-terminosity will work between (a) police, (b) Social Services, (c) PCTs and (d) London education authorities.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 1 April 2003
	The closing date for applying to become a children's trust was 31 March. There have been a significant number of bids, of which a proportion is from partnerships led by London boroughs. One of a number of significant issues in the criteria against which the bids are being assessed is the issue of co-terminosity. It is not possible at this stage to analyse in detail the impact of co-terminosity, or lack of it, on the bidding process or the robustness of the plans.

Commission for Patient andPublic Involvement in Health

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the work programme of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health and its implementation is commercially confidential; and what his policy is on openness and transparency in relation to the work of the Commission.

David Lammy: As an independent body, the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) must decide which parts of its work programme and the implementation of it, will be commercially confidential.
	The Government expects that all non-departmental public bodies will operate in an open and transparent way and so improve their accountability to the public and other stakeholders. We expect that CPPIH will also operate in this way.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire dated 8 August 2002 for which an acknowledgement was sent on 1 November 2002 (ref P01018533).

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 18 March 2003
	A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 11 April.

Departmental Pay

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made with the pay review in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible, with particular reference to the gender pay gap; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: We have completed the review of our pay systems in line with in Government's commitment in response to the Equal Opportunities Commission Task Force's Just Pay report. We are now finalising our action plan to close any equal pay gaps, as well as proposals to review systems annually in future.

Disabled Children (Care Services)

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance his Department gives to local authorities about charging for domiciliary care services for disabled children;
	(2)  how many, what proportion and which local authorities charge for services to disabled children; what criteria they use to set these charges; and what fee levels have been set.

Jacqui Smith: The legal position, as set out at Section 29 of the Children Act 1989, is that where a local authority provides services, with the exception of advice, guidance or counselling, they may make such charges for that service as they consider reasonable.
	The Government recognises that this may put undue pressure on low income families and this is why the Act provides that no-one receiving income support or family credit is liable to pay a charge. The local authority will take into account the means of the family in each case. Local authorities may not require parents to pay more than is reasonable.
	It is a matter for local authorities as to whether or not a charge is made and, if so, how much any charge might be. We have not issued guidance to local authorities as the legal responsibility is in their hands.

Doctor Numbers (Lancashire)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors there are per 100 beds in each of the Lancashire NHS trusts.

Jacqui Smith: Data on the number of doctors per 100 beds for the Lancashire area are currently being validated.

Elderly Care (Buckinghamshire)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on funding for care of the elderly in Buckinghamshire in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203.

Jacqui Smith: Buckinghamshire has benefited from the increases in social services funding in recent years. In 200203, the Buckinghamshire authority's total social services resources increased, on a like for like basis, by 6.2 per cent., which followed on from a 9.1 per cent. increase in 200102. Buckinghamshire will also benefit from the extra increases announced for 200304. For instance, its social services formula funding share has increased, on a like for like basis, by 13.2 per cent. In addition, there will be substantial additional resources paid through grants by the Department of Health. Most resources are allocated on an unhypothecated basis and it is for the county council to decide how much to allocate to care of the elderly.

Five-a-day Initiative

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advertising and public awareness campaign will be used in conjunction with the launch of the five-a-day initiative; what form this public awareness will take; and at what cost.

Hazel Blears: The five-a-day logo was launched on 25 March. There are no plans for an advertising campaign, but the launch did attract national and local media coverage.
	The five-a-day programme is supported by a full range of information materials, which are being distributed through primary care settings. The cost of printing the materials was 200,000.
	Sixty six local five-a-day initiatives supported by the New Opportunities Fund will, as part of their work programmes, aim to increase awareness of five-a-day in their communities, using the centrally developed information materials.
	The National School Fruit Scheme, which is also supported by the New Opportunities Fund, gives parents and children information materials on the scheme which promote the five-a-day message.
	Other awareness activities include work with the food industry to ensure consistent and clear five-a-day messages.

Food Procurement

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he gives to (a) health trusts and (b) agencies for which he is responsible regarding the procurement of food that is (i) local and (ii) British.

John Hutton: Public sector purchasers must comply with the Treaty of Rome and World Trade Organisation agreements irrespective of the value of a requirement. Where the requirement is in excess of the thresholds built into the European Commission directives, the appropriate directive, whether it be works, supplies or services, must also be complied with.
	The overall aim of the directives is to create a single European market devoid of all trading restrictions and barriers in which all businesses have an opportunity to compete equally. Therefore, public sector purchasers must ensure that they act fairly and equitably and perform their duties in a non-discriminatory manner.
	The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) is working closely with other Government bodies to investigate the opportunities of delivering the Government's local sustainable development initiatives while remaining compliant with European Commission directives. For example, PASA is working closely with the Peninsular Consortium, following their Objective One funding from the European Union, to offer help and advice with their proposed business case for the future food provision within the Cornwall region. This could be a test-bed for future initiatives within the national health service.

Foundation Hospitals

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to protect smaller local hospitals from becoming unable economically to carry out particular procedures and treatments in the face of competition from foundation trusts.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 April 2003
	All providers of national health service care will be paid according to a national tariff. As a result, there will be no price competition from foundation trusts.

Foundation Hospitals

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether foundation hospitals will be able to set up limited companies with which to conduct trade with their non-protected assets.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 April 2003
	Yes. Subject to parliamentary approval, provisions in clause 17 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, will enable foundation hospitals to be able to set up limited companies to conduct trade with non-protected assets. national health service trusts can already establish trading companies.

GP Contract

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the new GP contract on the provision of out of hours cover.

John Hutton: The proposed new general medical service (CMS) contract would offer CMS providers the opportunity to opt out of responsibility for providing out of hours care to their patients and a timetable for doing so. If the new contract is accepted by general practitioners and they exercise this opt-out, primary care trusts (PCTs) will be responsible for ensuring that an alternative and accredited service is available.

Health Care (Somerset)

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many (a) care beds, (b) nursing beds, (c) elderly mentally impaired beds and (d) terminal beds there are in Somerset; and how many there have been in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many people there were in elderly care in Somerset in each of the last three years;
	(3)  how many respite care homes have shut in each of the last three years in (a) the Sedgemore district council area and (b) west Somerset;
	(4)  how many people were placed in care homes from hospitals in Somerset in each of the last three years.

Jacqui Smith: The latest available information on residential and nursing care home places in the Somerset area is shown in table 1. Information on the number of care home places in Somerset is not yet available for 2002.
	
		Table 1: Residential and nursing care home places in Somerset at 31 March
		
			  Nursing care(58) Residential care(59) Total number of care home places 
			 Number of places 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Total 2,760 2,540 4,100 4,100 6,860 6,640 
			 Of which:   
			 Older people(60) 2,260 1,960 3,060 3,030 5,310 4,990 
			 Elderly Mentally Infirm(61) 500 470 70 70 570 530 
		
	
	(58) Nursing data refers to Somerset health authority and includes registered beds in general and mental nursing homes
	(59) Residential data refers to Somerset shire county, and includes places in LA staffed, voluntary, private, small homes and dual registered residential places.
	(60) Beds designated people aged 65 and over other than elderly mentally infirm people
	(61) Beds designated for elderly mentally infirm people
	Source:
	RA Form A and RH(N) forms, Department of Health
	The number of people aged 65 or over receiving community-based services to help them to live at home independently in the Somerset area is shown in table 2. Community based services include one or more of the following services: home care, day care, meals, planned short term breaks (respite care), direct payments, professional support, transport, equipment or adaptations.
	
		Table 2: Older people receiving community-based services in Somerset(62)
		
			 As at 31 March Number of older people Rate per 1,000 population aged 65 or over(63) 
		
		
			 2000 7,340 77 
			 2001 9,630 100 
			 2002 9,520 98 
		
	
	Notes:
	(62) People aged 65 or over, receiving community-based services from Somerset county council as at 31 March
	(63) This rate is Performance Assessment Framework Indicator C32
	Source:
	KS1 return, Department of Health
	Information is not available centrally on the number of terminal beds in Somerset and the number of people placed in care homes from hospitals in Somerset.
	Information is not collected centrally on respite care homes, as there is no formal classification for respite care homes.

Health Expenditure

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for (a) Great Britain and (b) each health authority the expenditure on health per head of population, expressed in real terms, in each year since 199798.

John Hutton: holding answer 25 March 2003
	Information relating to Wales and Scotland is a matter for the devolved administrations. While the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved the responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.
	Information on the expenditure on health by weighted head of population in real terms for each health authority area in England for each year since 199798 has been placed in the Library.

Health Strategy

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in developing a sustainable development strategy for health.

Hazel Blears: The Department of Health strategy on sustainable development and the environment is in line with the Government's overall sustainable development strategy, in which health, or expected healthy years of life, is one of the 15 key headline indicators. Departmental officials are currently collaborating with the Sustainable Development Commission to update and improve the Department's strategy.
	The Department's sustainable development strategy, which has specific targets for reducing inequalities in health, should be viewed within the context of overall health strategies. These include measures to address the social, economic, and environmental factors relating to health such as housing, education, and nutrition. Progress can be tracked on the Department of Health web page at http://www.doh.gov.uk/sustainabledevelopment.

Health Vacancies

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the vacancy rate was for consultants working in coronary care in the NHS in (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each NHS trust in each of the last six years.

John Hutton: The three specialties involved in coronary care are cardiology, cardio-thoracic surgery and paediatric cardiology.
	The Department has only collected vacancy data since 1999, and not always to the same level of detail appearing in the last survey in 2002. The 1999 and 2000, data include only specialty groups and not individual specialties. Before the 2002 survey, paediatric cardiology was included within the paediatric group and was not separately identified.
	2002 vacancy data has been presented within strategic health authority areas as opposed to NHS regions.
	Available vacancy rate data have been placed in the Library.

Healthcare Computing Conference

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's presentation to the healthcare computing conference in Harrogate on 25 March.

John Hutton: There was a series of presentations on key aspects of the national programme for information technology (IT) in the National Health Service made at the Healthcare Computing 2003 conference on 25 March 2003.
	They covered an analysis of the IT supplier market, developing the IT infrastructure, the National Design Authority, the integrated care records service (ICRS), planning for ICRS implementation in London, the health records infrastructure, engaging key clinical and managerial stakeholders in the NHS, communicating with patients and the public and progress on electronic appointment booking.
	Taken together they demonstrated a strong national IT programme team approach to consultation, planning and delivery and were well received by Healthcare Computing 2003 delegates.
	We will publish an update in April on the national IT programme that includes a summary of the presentations made and news on progress. This will also be placed in the Library.

Hospital Food

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will make details of the second stage of the Better Hospital Food Programme available to the House.

David Lammy: The details of the next stage of the Better Hospital Food Programme will be announced at the Hospital Caterers Association Annual Conference on 24 April 2003.
	Details will be made available to Members shortly.

Independent Complaints Advocacy

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce legislation to give the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health the power to (a) commission and (b) provide independent complaints advocacy.

David Lammy: There are no plans to give the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) any powers to either commission or provide independent complaints advocacy (ICAS).
	The intention is that primary care trusts patients' forums will commission or provide ICAS when they have established their networks and capacity. As an interim measure, when Section 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 is commenced, the Secretary of State has the power to arrange for the provision of ICAS and the Department shall be working with the CPPIH to put in place national coverage with specialist complaints support providers from 1 September 2003. To support this system, we intend to give the CPPIH powers to manage this interim contract.

Information Technology

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are in place to require NHS IT managers to compare external supplier costs to costs of goods and services procured under framework contracts.

John Hutton: The national health service information technology framework contract, set up in conjunction with the Office of Government Commerce contract (g-cat), commissions price surveys from an independent commercial market price database. The data include prices from all sources such as corporate resellers, electrical and information technology stores, retailers, independent retail and on-line suppliers.
	In addition, within the framework agreements there is the facility for information technology managers to run 'mini competitions' among the companies on the agreement. The framework agreements are consistently monitored, and individual information technology managers can compare the prices with any other alternatives available, to confirm value for money.

Information Technology

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring his Department is undertaking of clinician (a) satisfaction with and (b) use of new NHS IT systems; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Clinician satisfaction and use of specific implementations of new national health service information technology systems is a matter for local management and the relevant suppliers.

Inventures

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he investigated the leaking of confidential contractual documents relating to the sale of Inventures at any point (a) before and (b) after the selection of the Miller Group as the preferred bidder.

John Hutton: An investigation was carried out into the leaking of confidential contractual documents. This investigation took place after the selection of Miller/Bank of Scotland and confirmed that this disclosure did not influence the decision to appoint Miller/Bank of Scotland.

Language and Speech Therapists

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) language and (b) speech therapists are employed in the NHS.

John Hutton: Separate information on speech therapists and language therapists is not collected centrally. As at 30 September 2001, there were 5,680 qualified speech and language therapists employed in the national health service, an increase of 810 or 17 per cent. since 1997.

Local Election Campaigns

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has given to primary care trusts about the timing of consultations on changes to services during local council election campaigns; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The Department has not issued any guidance specifically about the timing of consultations on changes to services during local council election campaigns. However, the National Health Service Chief Executive Bulletin Number 7 (March 2003), which was sent to all strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust (PCT) chief executives, included a reference to the local election purdah and drew attention to Cabinet Office guidance on the conduct of public servants during election periods. SHAs are expected to ensure that PCTs in their areas undertaking consultations have regard to the guidance.

Locum GPs

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure on locum GPs was as a percentage of total GPs' salaries in each (a) health authority, (b) primary care trust and (c) county in each of the last three years.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

New Opportunities Fund

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money is being contributed by the New Opportunities Fund to health education programmes in which his Department has an involvement.

Hazel Blears: The New Opportunities Fund is providing 42 million over two years for scaling up National School Fruit Scheme pilots region-by-region to provide a free piece of fruit each day to school children aged four to six in England; and 10 million over two years to support 66 local five-a-day community initiatives in England to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables. Both these programmes include health education activities.
	The New Opportunities Fund has approved 257 healthy living centre grants in England, worth over 200 million. These centres employ a wide range of methods to reduce inequalities in health and tackle the wider determinants and health education plays a central role in many programmes.
	The New Opportunities Fund will also developing a programme to support cardiac rehabilitation, for which 5 million has been allocated.

NHS (Health and Safety)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority the proportion of patient occupied floor area not compliant with (i) statutory health and safety regulations and (ii) statutory fire safety regulations in each of the last six years.

John Hutton: Data on the proportion of patient occupied floor area that is not compliant with statutory health and safety and statutory fire safety regulations, including compliance with the national health service firecode standards, began in 200102 and is shown in the tables. Figures are not yet available for 200203.
	These figures reflect the proportion of the estate that is not fully compliant. Figures are collected for each category separately, and some of the areas covered by one category will also fall into the other. Non-compliant estate will cover a wide variety of conditions, including that which is just below standard. Therefore the figures do not indicate levels of risk, and despite significant proportions being non-compliant, the degree of risk to patients could be very small. Trusts make every effort to remedy any concerns from local enforcement bodies as quickly as possible. This is reflected in the very small numbers of injuries and deaths arising as a result of fires and reportable health and safety incidents in NHS hospitals in England, despite the very high numbers of people who use healthcare premises.
	Health and safety
	
		
			 DHSC Percentage floor area below statutory health and safety compliance 
		
		
			 England total 10.55 
			   
			 London 9.48 
			 Midlands and Eastern 12.79 
			 North 8.81 
			 South 11.60 
		
	
	
		
			 Strategic health authority Percentage floor area below statutory health and safety compliance 
		
		
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 14.94 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 14.80 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 15.83 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 1.70 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 0.55 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcester 40.84 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 15.83 
			 Dorset and Somerset 1.73 
			 Essex 8.70 
			 Greater Manchester 9.11 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1.79 
			 Kent and Medway 8.81 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 13.70 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 4.20 
			 North and North East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire 19.05 
			 North Central London 15.64 
			 North East London 6.37 
			 North West London 9.54 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 9.87 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 10.65 
			 South East London 3.40 
			 South West London 15.20 
			 South West Peninsular 2.39 
			 South Yorkshire 3.94 
			 Surrey and Sussex 21.96 
			 Thames Valley 20.99 
			 Trent 1.96 
			 West Yorkshire 14.09 
		
	
	Fire safety
	
		
			 DHSC Percentage floor area not in statutory fire safety compliance 
		
		
			 England total 8.57 
			   
			 London 8.56 
			 Midlands and Eastern 9.23 
			 North 8.24 
			 South 8.34 
		
	
	
		
			 Strategic health authority Percentage floor area not in statutory fire safety compliance 
		
		
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 9.33 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 17.60 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 4.62 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 1.40 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 0.24 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcester 29.88 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 10.85 
			 Dorset and Somerset 2.03 
			 Essex 8.54 
			 Greater Manchester 9.24 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 0.98 
			 Kent and Medway 6.14 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 10.87 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 2.67 
			 North and North East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire 13.76 
			 North Central London 10.70 
			 North East London 6.69 
			 North West London 7.17 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 21.61 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 6.56 
			 South East London 1.08 
			 South West London 25.08 
			 South West Peninsular 3.30 
			 South Yorkshire 2.56 
			 Surrey and Sussex 16.41 
			 Thames Valley 13.96 
			 Trent 3.12 
			 West Yorkshire 8.92

NHS Consultants

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS consultants are employed on joint contracts with both English and Welsh hospitals.

John Hutton: An analysis of data for September 2001 suggests that there were approximately 60 consultants who had contracts with both an English national health service trust and a Welsh NHS trust. It is not possible to ascertain from the available information whether these are necessarily joint contracts. It is possible for a consultant to have two separate contracts with two separate NHS organisations.

NHS Consultants

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends that NHS consultants employed on joint contracts by English and Welsh hospitals should continue to be employed under a single NHS consultant's contract.

John Hutton: The terms and conditions of employment offered to consultants by national health service trusts in England and in Wales are a matter for individual trusts to determine.

NHS Walk-in Centres

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS walk-in centres there are (a) in England and (b) in the Buckinghamshire health authority area; and what plans he has for further centres.

John Hutton: There are now 42 national health service walk-in centres, none of which is within the Buckinghamshire Strategic Health Authority area. These have demonstrated success in improving primary care access locally, and we now expect them and similar primary care trust led walk-in services to form an integral part of local strategies to improve primary care access. We are considering how best to encourage their further development.

Nurses

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many agencies were used by NHS trusts to recruit nurses in each year since 1997; and if he will list the agencies used by NHS trusts to recruit nurses in 200203.

John Hutton: Prior to the commencement of the regional nursing agency project plan to provide regional framework agreements for use by National Health Service trusts, information available on which nursing agencies were being used by trusts was not collected centrally.
	Under the regional framework agreements, the NHS is using the following numbers of agencies:
	
		
			 Agencies Number 
		
		
			 London (specialist nurses) 29 
			 London (general nurses) 72 
			 North West (all types) 40 
			 South West (all types) 45 
			 Eastern (all types) 45 
			 West Midlands (all types) 59

Nurses

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many registered nurses actively recruited to the NHS from abroad are employed within the NHS in England;
	(2)  how many registered nurses were actively recruited to the NHS from abroad in (a) 19992000, (b) 200001, (c) 200102 and (d) since April 2002 in (i) England, (ii) each NHS region and (iii) each strategic health authority.

John Hutton: The Nursing and Midwifery Council registers all nurses who work in the United Kingdom and hold statistics for the number of overseas nurses who are accepted onto their register.
	Through government to government agreements (Philippines, India and Spain), 1,092 nurses have been recruited.

Nurses

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of registered nurses working in the NHS at the beginning of the year remained working in the NHS at the end of the year in (a) 19992000, (b) 200001 and (c) 200102; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Between September 1999 and March 2002, there has been a net increase of 28,740 qualified nurses employed in the national health service.
	Information on the number of nurses leaving the Nursing and Midwifery Council register is available from their website at www.nmc-uk.org.uk.

Nurses

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce the number of nurses leaving the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 7 April 2003
	The Government are committed to retaining more staff in the national health service. As a result of the action we have taken to improve pay, child care, working conditions, and access to training and development, vacancy rates for nurses are falling.

Nurses

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age of retirement of registered nurses working in the NHS in England was at the last date for which figures are available.

John Hutton: Information in the form requested is not readily available. The indicative average retirement age, based on past experience, of the group of national health service pension scheme members in England and Wales, which includes qualified and unqualified nursing staff, in normal health, is shown in the table.
	
		
			 As at 31 March 1999 Average age 
		
		
			 Men 60.1 
			 Women 60.4

Nurses

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses leaving the NHS have been subsequently re-employed by the NHS through agencies, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 7 April 2003
	Information on the number of nurses who leave the national health service is not collected centrally.
	Since 1997, there has been a net increase of 39,500 in the NHS nursing workforce (this figure excludes agency staff and takes account of leavers and joiners). We aim to raise standards and achieve value for money by increasing the number of permanent staff working in the NHS, so reducing reliance on the employment of temporary staff.

Nurses

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses have been employed by the NHS in each of the last 25 years for which figures are available.

John Hutton: holding answer 8 April 2003
	The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services (HCHS) qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff and general medical services practice nurses employed by unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPEs)(64), in England: 1976 to 2001
		
			  Headcount Whole-time equivalent 
		
		
			 1976(65) 174,086 147,320 
			 1977(65) 179,138 152,447 
			 1978(65) 185,873 157,757 
			 1979(65) 190,243 160,367 
			 1979(66) (69)192,052 161,359 
			 1980(67) (69)198,316 167,097 
			 1981(67) (69)208,296 179,144 
			 1982(67) (69)215,155 185,913 
			 1982(68) (69)253,881 220,492 
			 1983 (69)259,363 224,971 
			 1984 (69)266,417 229,646 
			 1985 (69)275,415 236,340 
			 1986 (69)279,231 239,271 
			 1987 (69)284,600 241,981 
			 1988 (69)290,589 245,404 
			 1989 296,937 249,240 
			 1990 298,966 250,080 
			 1991(70) (69)309,781 252,030 
			 1992(70) (69)313,986 255,691 
			 1993(70) (69)310,896 241,456 
			 1994(70) 305,784 247,883 
			 1995(71) 316,893 256,567 
			 1996(71) 319,151 257,891 
			 1997 318,856 256,093 
			 1998 (69)323,457 257,596 
			 1999 (69)329,637 261,340 
			 2000 335,952 266,987 
			 2001 350,381 277,334 
			 2002(72) (March) 358,381 282,334 
		
	
	(64) UPEs includes GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs and PMS Salaried GPs.
	(65) Non-Medial figures only. 197679 figures taken from 1982 Health and Personal Social Service Statistics for England.
	(66) 1979 onwards Non-Medical Qualified Nurses and Practice Nurses.
	(67) Non-medical figures taken from 1985 HPSSS.
	(68) Version of 1982 non-medical figures from HPSSS as a comparison with the earlier years.
	(69) Headcount Practice Nurse figures are estimated for these years based on the 1997 wte to headcount ratio.
	(70) Figures for 1991 to 1994 may not be fully comparable with other data due to under-reporting of fundholding practice staff.
	(71) Includes estimated data for Buckinghamshire.
	(72) This figure is estimated and from the March 2002 vacancy survey.
	Notes:
	1. Figures exclude learners and agency staff.
	2. A new classification of the non-medial workforce was introduced in 1995. Information based on this classification is not directly comparable with earlier years.
	3. Practice Nurses data as at 1 October each year 1979 to 1999, and 30 September 2000 to 2001.
	4. Non-medical data as at 30 September each year.
	Sources:
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census

Obesity

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to bring forward statutory instruments to reduce obesity.

Hazel Blears: The Government are committed to action to prevent and manage obesity in children and adults, particularly as it increases the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. The Government are not considering statutory instruments to reduce obesity. However, action to address obesity is being taken forward through the national service frameworks for coronary heart disease, older people and diabetes. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence have also been asked to develop guidance on identification, prevention and management of obesity and maintenance of weight reduction. The Health Development Agency is setting out the evidence base for effective interventions on the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity, and the maintenance of weight loss.

Over-Medication

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which aspects of the Research and Development Strategy for the National Standards Framework on older people will examine the extent of inappropriate prescribing in care homes and its causes.

Jacqui Smith: No research is currently being funded in this area in relation to the national service framework. A recent call for proposals did not attract research of sufficiently high quality. However, the Department not only commissions research but is aware of and draws upon high quality research funded by other organisations, including work in this area.

Parliamentary Question

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the Question from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, ref 103543, tabled for answer on 18 March.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 4 April 2003
	I replied to the hon. Member today.

Patient Forums

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many statutory patients forums and patient and public involvement forums he expects there to be in place on (a) 1 September 2003, (b) 1 January 2004 and (c) 1 April 2004.

David Lammy: It is the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health's intention to have all patient and public involvement forums in place by 31 December 2003.
	It is not possible to predict the outcome of the recruitment exercise to patients' forums and be more specific about how many forums will be in place at any time before the end of the year.

Patients' Rights

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received regarding the right of NHS patients to choose to have operations performed in hospitals outside the UK within the EU.

John Hutton: Over the past three months members of the public have made representations regarding the right to be treated abroad through a number of different routes. Letters of inquiry, e-mails and phone calls are received from patients, asking about their rights to be treated abroad in general terms.
	The table shows the number of Private Office, and Treat Official correspondence received over the last three months. These figures include inquiries regarding the direct referral system only, as figures relating to the numbers of queries regarding the E112 system are not available. 221 E112 referrals have been authorised in the last three months.
	The hon. Member may also wish to be aware of an application to the High Court for judicial review of a decision to refuse an application for treatment in France in the case of Watts v. Bedford Primary Care Trust. The hearing was on 911 April; judgment was reserved and is awaited.
	
		Number of Private Office and Treat Official correspondence received relating to the treatment abroad programme 
		
			 Month Private Office Correspondence Treat Official Correspondence 
		
		
			 January 2003 0 6 
			 February 2003 1 1 
			 March 2003 2 1

Prescriptions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend the right to prescribe medicines.

John Hutton: We have already taken a number of steps to extend responsibilities for prescribing medicines at National Health Service expense in England.
	Over 23,000 nurses with a district nurse or health visitor qualification are able to prescribe from a limited formulary designed to meet the needs of their patients.
	Since April 2002, many nurses have also been able to prescribe an extended range of medicines, designed to enable them to treat a broader range of medical conditions.
	From 4 April 2003, we have introduced supplementary prescribing for nurses and pharmacists, in accordance with a patient-specific clinical management plan, drawn up in agreement with and following diagnosis by a doctor.
	Ministerial colleagues are now considering how to take forward the extension of prescribing responsibilities for some allied health professions and optometrists.

Primary Care Trusts

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the financial allocation is to the primary care trusts in (a) Redbridge and (b) Waltham Forest; how this compares to the allocation to the three PCTs which previously covered the area; what the overall per capita funding is for the population in each PCT; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		Old configurationPrimary Care Trust revenue allocations200304
		
			 PCT Allocation (000) 
		
		
			 Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford 109,461 
			 Redbridge 160,654 
			 Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone 163,981 
			 Total 434,096 
		
	
	
		New configurationPrimary Care Trust revenue allocations 200304
		
			 PCT Allocation (000) Population Allocations per unweighted head 
		
		
			 Redbridge 207,662 218,984 948 
			 Waltham Forest 226,435 227,295 996 
			 Total 434,096   
		
	
	The three year allocations for the Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone PCT, Redbridge PCT and Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford PCT were announced on 11 December by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health. From 1 April 2003, these PCTs merged to establish two PCTs covering the boroughs of Redbridge and Waltham Forest respectively. The total allocation has not been changed by the reconfiguration.

Protective Equipment

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts have not carried out exercises with chemical, biological and radiological protective equipment in the last (a) six months and (b) three years.

John Hutton: All ambulance and acute trusts are required to test all their own contingency plans, including chemical, biological radiological and nuclear, on a regular basis and take part in multi-agency exercises.
	Each strategic health authority has been asked to review the plans and arrangements in every one for their trusts to confirm that they are satisfactory. This review and assessment of readiness to respond to incidents from any cause will be completed by mid-March.

Psychotherapists

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has held with the Health Professions Council concerning the regulation of psychotherapists; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 11 April 2003
	The Department has held no discussions with the Health Professions Council about the regulation of psychotherapists.

Psychotherapists

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to legislate for the regulation of psychotherapists.

John Hutton: holding answer 11 April 2003
	We believe in principle to a move towards statutory regulation within the framework of the Health Act 1999 for psychotherapists and other related groups. The Government have given an undertaking to assess all the important factors including the professions' readiness for better regulation and the availability of parliamentary time in order to be in a position to proceed.

Public Health Bodies

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) the Commission for Health Improvement and (b) the National Care Standards Commission will remain in place until the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection and the Commission for Social Care Inspection are fully established and functioning.

John Hutton: Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection and the Commission for Social Care Inspection will be established and functioning from April 2004.
	Until that time, the Commission for Health Improvement and the National Care Standards Commission will remain in place. Their work programmes to April 2004 have been developed to facilitate the transfer of functions to the new inspectorates.

Rubella

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of rubella were recorded in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) London in each year since 199798.

Hazel Blears: The number of confirmed cases of rubella in England, Wales and London between 1997 and 2002 is shown in the table. The data for 2002 is provisional and is therefore subject to change.
	
		Laboratory confirmed cases of Rubella, 19972002
		
			 Year England Wales London 
		
		
			 1997 94 5 5 
			 1998 120 2 5 
			 1999 158 3 4 
			 2000 59 1 11 
			 2001 38 4 12 
			 2002 (provisional) 63 0 20

Secure Units (Children)

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often parents may visit their children detained in Orchard Lodge and Standford House secure units.

Jacqui Smith: There are no formal restrictions on how often parents may visit their children, unless there are concerns for the welfare or safety of a child. All children placed in the secure units undergo full time education and visits are encouraged outside of normal school hours. However, the individual needs and views of the children, their parents, carers and social workers are taken into, account when agreeing an approved list of visitors and visiting schedules.

Smallpox Vaccine

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the second tranche of smallpox vaccines to be ordered by his Department are to undergo clinical trials; whether any of the manufacturers bidding for the contract have offered to supply vaccines that have undergone clinical trials; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The procurement procedure for selecting the successful company or companies for supply of the second tranche of smallpox vaccine is still in progress. We will require the production of our new smallpox vaccine to follow the European Union Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products guidance, which includes recommendations for a clinical development programme.

Smallpox Vaccine

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether IDT was invited to submit a bid for the second tranche of smallpox vaccines to be procured by his Department; why no direct invitation was made to IDT to submit a bid for the first tranche; and if he will make a statement on the relative merits and demerits of (a) the Lister strain and (b) the New York Board of Health strain of smallpox vaccine.

John Hutton: The second tranche of smallpox vaccines is being procured by way of a competitive tendering procedure. A notice was placed in the Official Journal of the European Communities in October 2002, seeking expressions of interest from any company wishing to tender for the contract. No company was approached on an individual basis and invited to bid.
	Impfstoffwerke Dessau Tornav Gmbh (IDT) was not approached during the first smallpox vaccine procurement process. It was known from the outset that IDT were a sub-contracting partner of Bavarian Nordic, with whom PowderJect had an exclusive agreement to act as their suppliers for smallpox vaccine.
	In selecting the strain for the new smallpox vaccine, the Department of Health sought advice from a specially convened expert subgroup of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Experts considered that there was no difference in efficacy between vaccines based upon the Lister strain and those based upon the New York City Board of Health (NYCBH) vaccinia strain as both were known to have been effective in the past.
	The JCVI sub-group also concluded that there is a greater body of evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of the Lister strain vaccines against the more severe form of smallpox variola major in the past than there is for the NYCBH based vaccines. The view was taken that using a different strain for our new vaccine than that chosen by the United States offered the greatest safeguard in the event of difficulties arising with the production of either new vaccine.

Smoking

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Approved Code of Practice on Smoking in the Workplace.

Hazel Blears: If we are to ensure protection against passive smoking in public places, we need action nationally and locally both to raise awareness of the risks associated with passive smoking and to increase the prevalence of smoke free environments. The Department will continue to encourage the development of smoke free policies, working with employers and communities.
	At a national level, the Department has, since 1998, worked with the hospitality industry to reduce the problem of exposure to passive smoking through the development of a Public Places Charter. The Charter commits signatories to increase the provision of facilities for non-smokers, improving ventilation and giving customers better information about the level of smoke free facilities in an establishment. An independent evaluation of the Charter has been commissioned, and further work will be considered on the basis of the findings.
	The Government are giving careful consideration to the Health and Safety Commission's proposals for an approved code of practice (ACoP). We encourage all employers to introduce smoke-free workplaces, but are particularly concerned about the implications such a code would have for the hospitality sector and small businesses. While consideration of the ACoP continues, other action is being taken to encourage the provision of smoke-free areas in public and workplaces. We recognise that making places entirely smoke free is not always going to be possible and encourage in these circumstances other measures to be taken to reduce people's exposure to smoke.
	Locally, the Department is funding tobacco control alliances across England to work in communities to raise awareness and to increase the number of smoke-free environments. Findings from these projects will inform future development of the Department's work in this area.
	The Department will, in addition to action already underway, develop education and information resources to raise awareness and understanding of the risks associated with passive smoking.

Staff Assaults

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reported assaults against hospital staff at NHS hospitals there have been in the Greater London area during the last 12 months.

John Hutton: The Department does not collect this information in the form requested.
	The Department does, however, collect information on reported incidents of violence, which includes verbal abuse. These figures are not broken down.
	The table shows figures for Greater London in 200001. This information is taken from the 200001 Survey of Reported Violent or Abusive Incidents, Accidents Involving Staff and Sickness Absence in NHS Trusts and Health Authorities, in England. The 200102 survey has not yet been published.
	
		Number of reported violent incidents against NHS staff in Greater London200001
		
			  
		
		
			 Greater London 7,736 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are the total of all violent incidents reported by NHS Trusts within the London Strategic Health Authorities.
	2. Figures are for the financial year 200001.
	Source:
	Department of Health's survey of Violence, Accidents and Harassment in 200001.

Stroke Treatment

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated for strokes (a) by hospital, (b) in England and (c) in each health authority in 2002; and what their annual rates were.

Jacqui Smith: The available information has been placed in the Library.
	Information on the annual survival rates of patients treated for strokes is not collected centrally.
	The national service framework (NSF) for older people, published in March 2001, requires all general hospitals that care for people with stroke to have by April 2004 a specialised stroke service, as described in the NSF stroke service model.
	Implementation of specialist stroke services is required in Improvement Expansion and Reform, the Priorities and Planning Framework for 200306. This makes clear that implementation of the older people's NSF is a top priority, and that the 2004 milestone around specialist stroke services is a key target.

Sunset Clauses

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the sunset clauses included in legislation from his Department since 1997.

John Hutton: None of the Bills introduced by the Department of Health since 1997 has contained a sunset clause.

Tuberculosis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2003, Official Report, column 350W, on tuberculosis, how many specialist nurses were employed in each sector in London, broken down by (a) headcount and (b) full-time equivalent figures, in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Information on the details of the number of specialist nurses was not collected prior to April 2002.

Tuberculosis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what prevention and awareness campaigns about tuberculosis took place in London in each of the last two years.

Hazel Blears: The Department launched a tuberculosis awareness campaign on 25 March 2002. This included media and press advertisements, posters and leaflets and some public relations outreach work.
	The devolution of power to local national health service organisations means that primary care trusts and trusts are responsible for mounting their own programmes. We are aware of various on-going TB awareness programmes in London sectors.

Waiting Times/Lists

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are waiting for NHS treatment for (a) a hip joint replacement, (b) a knee joint replacement, (c) coronary artery bypass grafts and (d) cardiac surgical procedures.

John Hutton: Information on patients waiting for elective in-patient admissions is in most cases collected at consultant main specialty level, not by procedure. Information is collected on patients waiting for coronary artery bypass grafts, at 31 January 2003 this figure stood at 5,688.
	Patients waiting for hip and knee joint replacements are likely to be waiting under the trauma and orthopaedic specialty, coronary artery bypass grafts under cardiology and cardiac surgical procedures under cardiothoracic surgery. In line with NHS Plan targets, by 2005 waiting time for routine cardiac surgery will fall to a maximum of three months and waiting times for all other in-patient procedures will fall to a maximum of six months.
	The table shows the number of patients waiting for elective in-patient admission for the above specialties.
	
		Patients waiting for elective in-patient admission: Position at31 January 2003
		
			 Specialty Total patients waiting 
		
		
			 Trauma and orthopaedics 268,036 
			 Cardiology 32,275 
			 Cardiothoracic surgery 10,426 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH07

Ward (Definition)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition of a ward is used in the national health service.

John Hutton: The national health service data dictionary defines a ward as a group of beds with associated treatment facilities managed by a senior nurse.
	Decisions about whether a specific bed grouping in a ward are made at a local level.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Census Records

John Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department whether TNT Express Services with Prologis Ltd. will be responsible for record management and archiving services for census records after the contract for the Hayes PPP Project has been signed.

Rosie Winterton: Any census record that has been accessioned (selected for permanent preservation) and is in the custody of The National Archives will not be part of the Hayes PPP project. The National Archives will only use the Hayes PPP project to store non-accessioned records (those not selected for permanent preservation).

Child Witnesses

Simon Hughes: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many children gave evidence as witnesses in criminal trials in the last year.

Yvette Cooper: The Court Service does not collect statistics on the number of children who give evidence as witnesses in criminal trials.

Alternative Sentences

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on (a) the development proposals for alternative sentences for those who genuinely cannot pay court fines, and (b) deductions from earnings and benefits for those who can pay court fines.

Yvette Cooper: The Home Office are looking at the feasibility of alternative sentences including unpaid work instead of fines in particular circumstances.
	We are considering how the use of attachments against earnings and deductions from benefits can be made a more effective part of the arrangements for improving fine enforcement.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what his estimate is of the expenditure of his Department on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002.

Rosie Winterton: The total estimated expenditure on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 200203 was 78,520.

Departmental Running Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the running costs in 2002 were of (a) the Lord Chancellor's Department Ministers' private offices, separately identifying expenditure on staff, and (b) the Department.

Rosie Winterton: Gross administration costs (formerly known as running costs) for 200102, consistent with the audited departmental resource accounts, were as follows:
	(a) Ministerial Private Offices (000):
	Staff costs 1,277
	Other administration costs 343
	Total gross administration costs 1,620
	(b) The Department (000):
	Staff costs 246,745
	Other administration costs 365,427
	Total gross administration costs 612,172
	Figures for 200203 will be published in departmental resource accounts in due course.

Departmental Website

Tim Yeo: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on the (a) cost of and (b) number of visitors to each website operated by her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible in each year since its establishment.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Website Start-up costs Operating costs Visits/hits 
		
		
			 Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) www.cafcass.gov.uk 6,048 (+ VAT) September 2000 to September 2001: 2,000 
			 September 2001 to present: 2,532 (+ VAT) per month Figures not available as page impressions or visits  
			 (73)200203: 59,261 hits 
			 Civil Justice Council www.civiljusticecouncil.gov.uk 1,116 (74)200203 (75)200203: 34,114 visits 
			 Civil Justice Council Costs website 9,971.42 200203: 3,000 No figures available 
			 Community Legal ServiceJust Ask www.justask.gov.uk 1,500,000 (April 2000) 200102: 888,000 
			 (Legal Services Commission assumed responsibility October 2001) 
			 200203 700,000 
			 (Includes staff and development costs) In page impressions: 
			 (76)January 2001 to December 2001: 498,641 
			 (77)January 2002 to December 2002: 986,407 
			 January 2003 to February 2003: 348,880 
			 CLSLegal Services Research Centre 500 200001: included in start-up  
			 200102: 475 No figures available 
			 Council on Tribunals www.councilontribunals.gov.uk 6,418.97 1,253.30 pa 
			 (74)200203 (78)200102: 14,890 visits 
			 200203: 18,108 visits 
			 Court Service www.courtservice.gov.uk 18,542.25 199899: 15,404.68 
			 19992002: 12,000 p.a. 
			 (74)200203 (79)200001: 351,662 visits 
			 200102: 746,818 visits 
			 200203: 2,294,634 visits 
			 Immigration Appellate Authority www.iaa.gov.uk Included in Year 1 operating costs (74)200203 (80)200203: 68,073 visits 
			 Judicial Studies Board www.jsboard.org.uk 975 (October 1998) 199899: 330 
			 19992000: 1,985 
			 200001: 500 200102: 1,200 
			 200203: 1,3077 
			 (74)200304 (81)200203: 37,121 visits 
			 Land Registrymain site www.landreg.gov.uk In house (October 1996) 199699: 5,000 p.a. 
			 October 1999 to October 2000: 1,000 p.a. 
			 October 2000 to March 2001: 2,000 p.a. 
			 200102: 7,000  
			 200203: 12,000 19992000: 155,000 visits 
			 200001: 305,000 visits 
			 200102: 670,000 visits 
			 200203: 1,000,000 visits 
			 (82) 
			 Law Commissionwww.lawcom.gov.uk 2,400 10,675 pa200203: See note 1 200203: 322, 159 visits**figures not available prior to 200203 
			 Legal Services Commissionwww.legalservices.gov.uk 20,577 200001: 91,925200102: 123,761200203: 126,000 Figures not available as pageimpressions or visits200001: 966,661 hits*200102: 11,819,895 hits200203: 17,732,970 hits*figures not available prior toJanuary 2001 
			 Legal Services Ombudsmanwww.olso.org 3348.75 August 2000 2001 3,879.252002 2,539 200203: 15,558 visits**figures not available prior to200203 
			 Lord Chancellors Deptwww.lcd.gov.uk 7,368 199899: 16,20019992000: 16,200200001: 41,1332000102: 152,859200203 See note 1 199899: 147,958 visits19992000: 291,582 visits200001: 358,161 visits200102: 469,683 visits200203: 1,234,931 visits 
			 Magistrates' Court Service Inspectoratewww.mcsi.gov.uk 130 200102: 1,322.50200202: 3,940.13200203 See note 1 200203: 24,916 visits**figures not available prior to200203 
			 Northern Ireland Court Service www.courtsni.gov.uk 55,000 (April 2002) 15,000 p.a. (83)200203: 92,000 page impressions (now running at 12,000 impressions a month) 
			 Official Solicitor's Department www.offsol.demon.co.uk In house 19992000: 141 p.a. No figures available 
			 Public Trust Office (closed June 2001)  (84)10,000 p.a. No figures available 
			 Public Guardianship Office www.publictrust.gov.uk 37,600 (June 2001) 200102: 14,334 
			 200203: 7,398 (80)200203: 82,252+ visits 
			 Public Record Officemain site www.pro.gov.uk 200,000 (1995) 200203: 147,000 
			 Previous years: similar No figures available 
			 PROother sites: Family Records; Learning Curve; a2a; Moving Here; Census  Complex arrangements with various partners, PRO contribution assessable only at disproportionate cost In page impressions: 
			 199899: 738,977 
			 19992000: 9,732,724 
			 200001: 38,019,254 
			 200102: 49,365,339 (85)200203:73,000,000 
		
	
	(73) Figures not available prior to January 2003. Figures not available as page impressions or visits.
	(74) The sites hosted by Cable and Wireless (200205) under a three year contract. The hosting element of this is 158,796 per annum for a total of eight sights.
	(75) Figures not available prior to 200203.
	(76) Figures not available prior to January 2001.
	(77) The 2002 increase is partly because we had previously omitted impressions of .asp and .jsp pages, which make up a significant amount of the site.
	(78) Figures not available prior to 200102.
	(79) Figures not available prior to 200001.
	(80) Figures not available prior to July 2002.
	(81) Figures not available prior to June 2002.
	(82) The various sites which existed within the Land Registry are now being consolidated into one site.
	(83) Figures not available prior to 200203. Current website does not record statistics for unique visitors.
	(84) Including development and operating cost.
	(85) Estimate.

European Constitution

William Cash: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on her assessment of the constitutional implications for the UK of acceding to the principle of a European Constitution.

Denis MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government does not consider that the draft EU Constitutional Treaty being debated by the Convention on the Future of Europe would lead to significant changes in the relationship between the EU and its citizens, or alter the position of the member states as the fundamental basis of the Union. There is no suggestion that it would undermine the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty.

Magistrates and Crown Courts

Frank Field: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) magistrates and (b) crown courts do not have separate waiting areas to ensure that witnesses do not have to mix with individuals against whom they will be testifying.

Yvette Cooper: The crown court sits at a total of 94 localities of which seven do not provide dedicated facilities for the separation of witnesses from the general public. In those cases other arrangements are made to provide for the necessary separationfor example using CPS or police rooms by arrangement. There are 402 magistrates courts of which 40 do not provide dedicated facilities for the separation of witnesses from the general public. Appropriate segregation arrangements are made there also.
	Over the last three years 5.3 million has been invested to provide 133 Video Link rooms in magistrates courts. In the last year a further 4.3 million has been invested in 27 crown courts and 21 magistrates courts to provide separate witness facilities at each court.

Market Research

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what expenditure has been incurred by her (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental bodies in 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if she will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. My Department conducts a range of exercises to measure public satisfaction with current services and to research future needs. Many surveys are carried out at a local level so that services can be provided to match the needs of local communities.

National Insurance

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the cost will be to public funds in 200304 of the rise in national insurance contributions on the salary bill of the Department.

Rosie Winterton: It is estimated that the changes to employers' national insurance contributions announced in the 2002 Budget will increase pay costs in my Department, in 200304, on average by 0.7 per cent.

PFI Schemes

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on the expected saving to public funds from the private finance initiative schemes due to become operational in 2003.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 10 April 2003, Official Report, column 4000W.

Press Office

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people are employed in the Department's press office; and how many were employed on 2 May 1997.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 20W. My Department employed three full time press officers in 1997; and now employs 10.

Staff Union Duties

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many staff in the Lord Chancellor's Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in 2002.

Rosie Winterton: The details for staff undertaking trade union duties is as follows:
	LCD including the Court Service
	108 staff undertook trade union duties during the financial year 200203. The number of days varied by individual from two to 203 days, at an overall salary cost of approximately 500,000.
	Public Guardianship Office
	13 staff undertook trade union duties during the financial year 200203. The number of days varied by individual from two to 220 days, at an overall salary cost of 40,730.
	CAFCASS
	This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information Commissioner's Office
	None.
	Legal Services Commission
	Approximately 23 staff undertook trade union duties during 2002 at an estimated total of 70 days paid leave. The approximate salary cost for this period was 4,000.
	Northern Ireland Court Service
	Nine staff undertook trade union duties during the financial year 200203 at a total of 108 days, and one member of staff was seconded to the trade union for the year, at a total salary cost of 26,499.
	National Archive (Public Record Office)
	One member of staff is employed 50 per cent. (115 days) of his working time as a Trade Union Side Officer. In 2002, the salary cost amounted to 8,270.
	Land Registry
	154 staff undertook trade union duties during the financial year 200203 at a total of 1,451 days. The Land Registry is a trading fund so the allocations do not draw on public funds; the costs are met from fees paid by the customers.

Statutory Instruments

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the statutory instruments issued by her Department in the last 12 months, indicating (a) the purpose of each and (b) the cost of each to (i) public funds, (ii) businesses and (iii) individuals.

Rosie Winterton: A list of statutory instruments has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. It includes those signed by, or on behalf of my right hon. and noble Friend, the Lord Chancellor during the 12 months from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, and also Orders in Council made during that period for which my Department was responsible. A list of statutory instruments initiated by other Government Departments, but made by the Lord Chancellor, is also included along with a list of Northern Ireland statutory rules signed by, or on behalf of, the Lord Chancellor.
	Details of the purpose of each instrument can be found in the instruments' explanatory notes.
	Policy decisions implemented by secondary legislation may increase, reduce or have no effect on costs to others. It is not possible, save at disproportionate cost, to attribute specific cost increases or reductions to specific statutory instruments.

Working Hours

Tim Yeo: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what policy on (a) core hours and (b) flexible working hours is operated by his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible.

Rosie Winterton: Core hours operated in my Department are as follows:-
	LCD, the Court Service, Northern Ireland Court Service, Information Commissioner's Office, Legal Services Commission
	10.00 am to 12.00 mid-day and 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm (although different hours may be agreed locally).
	Public Guardianship Office
	10.00 am to 11.30 am; and 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm.
	Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
	The only definable core hours are in headquarters, where cover is provided between at least 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.
	National Archive
	Public Record Office 10.00 am to 12.00 mid-day; and 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm.
	Historical Manuscripts Commission 10.00 am to 11.30 am; and 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm.
	 Land Registry
	Typically 9.30 am to 11.30 am and 1.30 pm to 3.00 pm.
	My Department is committed to accommodate, wherever possible, requests from employees to work flexibly subject to overriding business or operational requirements. A range of flexible working options is offered including flexible full-time hours, part-time, job-share and homeworking.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Jobseeker's Allowance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to increase the level of jobseeker's allowance.

Malcolm Wicks: Jobseeker's allowance has been increased for this financial year from 7 April using the Rossi Index (1.3 per cent.), as has been the practice since that benefit was introduced in 1996.
	In addition, families in receipt of jobseeker's allowance will benefit from above-inflation increases, as their child allowances have been aligned with the new child tax credit rates.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 13 March 2003, Official Report, column 414W, on jobseeker's allowance, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the decline in the number of jobseeker's allowance claimants declaring part-time earnings from 1997 to 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The fall in the number of jobseeker's allowance claimants declaring part-time earnings should be viewed in the context of the wider reduction in claimant unemployment over the last five yearsdown from over 1.5 million in August 1997 to around 925,000 in August 2002.
	Over this period we have also introduced a number of initiatives such as the New Deal, national minimum wage and tax credits. These initiatives are helping more jobseekers move into work and ensuring that that work pays. Many people are being helped to gain independence through moving into work and moving away from dependence on jobseeker's allowance.

Pensions

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the means testing of pensions.

Maria Eagle: Pension Credit will for the first time reward, not penalise savings ensuring that those who have worked hard to save modest amounts will gain from having done so.
	We want all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement and are committed to ensuring that all pensioners receive their entitlement. As a result of our policies no pensioner need now live on less than 102.10 a week (155.80 for couples).
	The Pension Service will deliver help to pensioners in their local communities as well as providing dedicated national service to meet their needs.

Pensions

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the European Court of Human Rights ruling on the treatment of transsexuals in the UK to be implemented by his Department in respect of pension age.

Maria Eagle: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department announced on 13 December 2002 that it is the Government's intention to publish a draft outline Bill to give legal recognition in their acquired gender to transsexual people who can demonstrate that they have taken decisive steps towards living fully and permanently in that gender.
	This Bill will enable transsexual people to acquire the rights and responsibilities of their new gender, including the right to claim state pension from the state pension age appropriate to their new gender or, if later, the date they are recognised legally in that gender.
	The Government hope it will be possible to publish the draft Bill during this Parliamentary session and is committed to legislating as soon as the parliamentary timetable allows.

Pensions

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State if he will make a statement on pension provision for women.

Maria Eagle: We recognise that it is sometimes harder for women to build up state and private pension rights than it is for men. We also recognise that the current generation of female pensioners are over represented in those groups of pensioners with low incomes.
	We have already taken action that will improve the pensions position of women, both current pensioners and those women not yet in retirement through the introduction of the pension credit, the state second pension and through our actions to enable some low paid workers to gain national insurance benefits without paying contributions.
	We would like to build on this progress, and in the Green Paper, Simplicity, security and choice: Working and Saving for Retirement, Cm 5677, we are seeking views on how to improve women's awareness of their pension position.

Pensions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs of 17 March 2003, Official Report, column 606W, on pensions, what the reasons were for the fall in the percentage of men aged 65 receiving both basic and additional State Pension.

Maria Eagle: The fall in the percentage of men aged 65 receiving both the basic State Pension and additional State Pension between September 1995 and September 2002 is due to the reduction in the number of men aged 65 in receipt of net additional State Pension over that period.
	Gross additional State Pension entitlement for men aged 65 has been steady in recent years. 92 per cent. of men aged 65 who were receiving a State Pension, received gross additional State Pension in September 1999, compared with 91 per cent. in September 2002.
	However, the percentage of men aged 65 in receipt of net additional State Pension is falling because of the increase in excess Contracted Out Deduction cases due to the interaction between the gross additional State Pension and Contracted Out Deduction calculations. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that there are more early leavers with fixed revaluations coming into retirement. These revaluations were in the past far higher than the current revaluations meaning that more people have excess Contracted Out Deductions than in the past and these excess Contracted Out Deductions themselves are larger. The second reason is that there are relatively low post award upratings experienced in the last few years, which means that it takes longer to reduce the excess Contracted Out Deductions and for the gross additional State Pension to exceed the Contracted Out Deductions.
	Notes:
	1. Gross additional State Pension figures on a consistent basis are not available before September 1999.
	2. 5 per cent. sample from the Pension Strategy Computer System (PSCS) as at the date of extraction.
	Source:
	The source data used to extract the figures are subject to change if further relevant earnings are posted to the National Insurance account.

Pensions

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the advice his Department is giving to pensioners through the Payment Modernisation Programme, with regard to those who rely upon multiple carers in order to collect their pensions.

Malcolm Wicks: Customers will be supplied with information that clearly sets out their account options and will enable them to choose the account that best meet their needs and circumstances. Card /PIN based accounts may not be suitable for people who rely on multiple carers, accounts that offer cheque books/building society passbooks provide more flexibility.

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether units of graduated pension have been price-indexed in every year since they were earned.

Maria Eagle: The amount of Graduated Retirement Benefit a person receives is based upon units derived from contributions paid between 1961 and 1975.
	From 1961 until 1978 each unit had a value of 2.5 pence. In November 1978 the value of each unit was increased to 2.59 pence, and since then the value has been increased in line with prices.

Private Training

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that private training providers delivering (a) New Deal and (b) other programmes spend a high proportion of funding they receive on the training of individuals and as little as possible on administration.

Nick Brown: In our contracting and monitoring of the New Deal and other programmes we continually seek to ensure quality training for our clients and value for money for taxpayers.
	Training providers are subject to thorough contractual and quality audits by Jobcentre Plus. In addition, the independent Adult Learning Inspectorate conduct reviews of providers which cover the administration, delivery and quality of the learning they provide. If, during these audits, any issues relating to the allocation of programme funds are identified, they are addressed with the provider.

Employment

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what further measures he will take to ease the move from unemployment into work.

Nick Brown: The housing benefit and council tax benefit run-ons ensure that people continue to receive support for the first four weeks after moving into work. From next year, we are extending this help to people in receipt of incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance.
	The Budget announced the piloting of child care tasters, allowing lone parents access to formal child care to explore how this could support their return to work.
	And the rapid re-claim system provides a safety net [through the introduction of simpler claim forms and a streamlined process] for people returning to jobseeker's allowance or income support if their job does not work out.

Asbestos

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the sources of scientific evidence and research that he has used on the possible health consequences of contact with chrysostile asbestos, with particular reference to farms.

Nick Brown: The two most recent scientific research projects on the possible health effects of chrysotile generally are: The Quantitative Risks of Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer in Relation to Asbestos Exposure (Hodgson and Darnton, Annals of Occupational Hygiene, December 2000), which also considered the relevant risks of blue and brown asbestos as well; and Opinion on Risk to human health from chrysotile asbestos and organic substitutes (December 2002), a report by Professor Terracini on behalf of EU Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment. Both concluded that chrysotile is still a cause of concern. Exposure to chrysotile could occur if the risks from asbestos materials in buildings are not properly managed and this exposure could occur wherever such materials are present, including farms.
	Copies of the research reports are available in the Library.

Asbestos

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultation he has held with the farming community on the (a) incidence and (b) consequences of chrysostile asbestos on farm properties.

Nick Brown: Through the Health in Agriculture Group, set up in 1997, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has consulted with representatives of the farming community, including the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Rural, Agriculture and Allied Workers section of the TGWU, on issues relating to asbestos.
	Guidance on asbestos is also included in the HSE guide to health and safety on farms, 'Farmwise', available on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubs/misc165.pdf

Asbestos

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to differentiate between the controls on (a) chrysostile asbestos and (b) other more dangerous forms of asbestos on farms.

Nick Brown: The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 sets different control limits for chrysostile and other forms of asbestos. It also requires that an assessment of the risks be undertaken before any work with asbestos begins. This should take account of both fibre types, but more importantly, the likely degree of exposure to asbestos.

Benefits

Michael Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the take-up rate has been by (a) caseload and (b) expenditure for (i) income support, (ii) the minimum income guarantee, (iii) housing benefit, (iv) council tax benefit and (v) jobseeker's allowance for the Folkestone and Hythe constituency in each year of their operation.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available at constituency level.
	The latest estimates of take-up of income related benefits for Great Britain are in the DWP report Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up 2000/2001. A copy of the report is available in the Library.

National Insurance Numbers

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the authorised uses of the national insurance number are; whether the use of the national insurance number for non-tax or non-benefit related purposes is permitted; if he will bring forward legislation to prevent the use of the number for non-tax or non-benefit related purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The National Insurance number is an internal system index number used by Inland Revenue to record and reconcile tax and National Insurance, and by the Department of Work and Pensions to pay social security benefits and pensions. National Insurance number policy is the joint responsibility of DWP and Inland Revenue.
	Any exchange of information is governed by the terms of the 1998 Data Protection Act. Under certain, limited, circumstances, the national insurance number can be used for other cross-government, public interest purposes. A full list of authorised users of the National Insurance Number for non-tax or benefit purposes will be placed in the Library.
	We have no plans to change the legislation relating to the use of National Insurance numbers.

Silicosis

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the extent of industrial lung disease, silicosis, among steelworkers; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: From reports provided by chest and occupational physicians participating in the Health and Safety Executivefunded Health and Occupation Reporting scheme (THOR), it is estimated that iron and steel industry workers accounted for an estimated 12 new cases per year of silicosis between 1996 and 2001.
	Over a similar period, the Department for Work and Pensions' Industrial Injuries Scheme assessed an average of seven new claims per year by iron and steel workers seeking compensation for work-related pneumoconiosis, of which silica is the most likely causative agent.

Child Care

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of state for Work Pensions what guidance has been given to Jobcentre Plus staff on the collection and provision of information on childcare provision for parents who are seeking employment.

Nick Brown: Childcare Partnership Managers are being introduced into every Jobcentre Plus District. They will ensure that advisers have access to the latest information about local childcare provision, and will work with childcare organisations to increase childcare provision to meet the needs of parents who want to work.

Advancement Demonstration Programme

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  pursuant to his written statement of 24 March 2003, Official Report, column 1WS, what the budget is for the Employment Retention and Advancement Demonstration Project; how this will be distributed through the six districts; what the money will be allocated for; how often the evaluation of the project will take place; how many Advancement Support Advisers there will be in each of the six districts; what training will be given to these advisers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  pursuant to his written statement of 24 March 2003, Official Report, column 1WS, if he will list the measures to encourage retention that will qualify for a financial incentive; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: In October 2003 we will introduce the Employment Retention and Advancement Demonstration Project (ERAD) in six locations. The project will examine ways of helping low paid workers and people moving off benefits to stay and advance in work. ERAD services will be offered to lone parents in receipt of working tax credit working less than 30 hours per week and participants in the New Deal for Lone Parents and New Deal 25 plus.
	All participants will receive one to one support from a dedicated adviser. To ensure participants receive the most appropriate support from advisers, we are currently undertaking a training-needs analysis for advisers that will enable us to develop effective training for our staff.
	To encourage job retention, participants working 30 hours or more per week can be eligible for payments from the project on top of their earnings. Payments will also be available to help individuals with further training, to assist with both retention and advancement.
	We are investing 30 million in ERAD over three years. The distribution of funds between the six districts has not yet been decided but will be based on projected volumes of eligible clients in each ERAD district area. The budget provides funding for the job retention and advancement incentives as well as the staff, equipment and evaluation costs of the project. The project will be comprehensively evaluated and will include research surveys after one and two years. Adviser numbers for the project are yet to be confirmed but will reflect projected client volumes in each ERAD district.

Asylum Seekers

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list (a) the benefits that may be available to asylum seekers, (b) the amounts that may be available and (c) the criteria for eligibility.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 3 April 2000 the Home Office, through the National Asylum Support Service, has been responsible for supporting and accommodating asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their asylum application.
	Those asylum seekers in receipt of Department for Work and Pension benefits prior to 3 April 2000 continue to be eligible to claim income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit as long as they meet the normal conditions of entitlement for those benefits.
	Income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance are paid at the urgent case rate of 90 per cent. of the adult personal allowance for the benefit recipient and any partner. The full rate of benefit is payable for any dependent children as well as any relevant premiums.
	The amount of any housing benefit or council tax benefit payable is governed by the level of rent or council tax charged.

Benefit Fraud

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he is taking to prevent fraudulent claims of benefits.

Malcolm Wicks: Our strategy for tackling fraud focuses on prevention by tightening the gateway to benefits, making stringent checks to verify a person's identity and details of their claim at the outset.
	The Department has introduced a range of measures to strengthen the evidence of identity procedures as well as improving the security of National Insurance Numbers (NINOs). People claiming benefits, including housing benefits, and anyone they are claiming benefit for, now have a statutory obligation to prove their identity, as provided for in the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997. This ensures that the NINOs being used belong to the people in question before any benefit is paid.
	The Department introduced a Verification Framework in 1998 to help reduce the amount of fraud and error entering local authority benefit administration. The Framework provides local authorities with recommended minimum standards on the checks they must make to verify information provided by customers when assessing claims for housing benefit and council tax benefit. 80 per cent. of local authorities have so far signed up to the Framework.
	The Targeting Fraud campaign is part of our long-term strategy to prevent fraud before it happens, underlining our message that benefit fraud will not be tolerated. Evaluation shows that public attitudes are moving in the right direction as a result of the campaign.
	Jobcentre Plus is providing a more comprehensive and integrated service for all benefit claimants. One-to-one interviews create a personal environment where the full and accurate details of a claim can be established and customers can be reminded of their responsibility to notify us of changes to their circumstances.
	We have made excellent progress in the fight against fraud and error. By March 2002 we had reduced fraud and error in income support and Jobseeker's allowance by 24 per cent. compared to 1998.

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to implement the recommendations by the National Audit Office to update his Department's research into the effect of sanctions on benefit fraudsters.

Malcolm Wicks: Following recommendations in the National Audit Office report, the Department is undertaking a literature survey of the research available into the effects of sanctions. This includes scrutiny of good practices and academic research of sanctions in analogous Government Departments worldwide.

Benefit Payments

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions claimants of which benefits are entitled to help from the adviser discretion fund; and how the eligibility criteria have changed since the scheme first began.

Malcolm Wicks: When the adviser discretion fund (ADF) was introduced in July 2001, it was available to people participating in New Deal for Young People, New Deal 25 plus, New Deal for Partners and New Deal for Disabled People (during the gateway interview only). It was also open to those New Deal for Lone Parents participants who had not been in full-time work (i.e. more than 16 hours per week) or full-time education in the last six months.
	In December 2001, the ADF was also made available to New Deal 50 plus participants.
	From 7 April this year, the fund was extended to include other Jobcentre Plus customers in continuous receipt of one, or a combination of, the following benefits for 26 weeks or more:
	Jobseeker's Allowance
	Income Support
	Incapacity Benefit
	Carer's Allowance
	Severe Disablement Benefit
	Bereavement Benefit.

Benefit Sanctions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of children in households subject to benefit sanctions, broken down by each category of sanction.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available.

Call Centres (Sheffield)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which call centre in Sheffield was recently awarded the contract previously held by Vetex in Pembroke Dock.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions issued an Invitation to Negotiate to a number of companies in September 2002 for additional telephone contact services, as part of The Pension Service. This will support the introduction of Pension Credit. Ventura were successful in this exercise and the Department has signed a contract with them. Ventura will run their centre in Wath on Deame. The other three sites will be DWP sites.
	This is a newly contracted service, awarded under open competition. Its award did not result in any loss of a DWP contract by Vetex in Pembroke Dock.
	The Pension Service already has more than 1,000 people working in Wales. These staff are based in local services, the National Winter Fuel Payments, The Pension Service Centres in Swansea, Wrexham, Cwmbran and Cardiff which is one of the Pension Credit telephone application centres.
	On 31 March the Secretary of State announced that 250 jobs would be created in Pembroke Dock via the establishment of a DWP Jobcentre Plus contact centre.

Child Maintenance Regulations

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated cost to public funds is in each of the next three years of the Social Security (Child Maintenance Premium and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations.

Malcolm Wicks: The cost of the child maintenance premium is estimated at 65 million in a full year, net of savings arising from the abolition of the child maintenance bonus.

Departmental Annual Report

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the annual report of the Department will be published.

Maria Eagle: The spring 2003 departmental reports are to be published between 28 April and 16 May 2003. We will publish our departmental report within this window, and are aiming for publication on 15 May.

Departmental Events

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by his Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in the last 12 months, broken down by title, purpose, date and cost.

Maria Eagle: The information is not available in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns between April 2002 and March 2003; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to (a) television, (b) radio and (c) print media.

Maria Eagle: Between April 2002 and March 2003 the Department spent around 8 million alerting people to their rights, responsibilities and entitlements through advertising using either televisions, radio or press media. To break this figure down by individual media would be at disproportionate cost.

Disability Discrimination Act

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much access audits will cost village and community halls and other voluntary, charitable or community service providers under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Maria Eagle: Access audits are not a formal legal requirement under the Disability Discrimination Act. Therefore we have no information on how much they might cost for any specific sector.

Disability Discrimination Act

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action he will take against village and community halls and other voluntary service providers who do not have the funds to make reasonable adjustments required by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Maria Eagle: None. The Disability Discrimination Act requires these organisations, like any other service provider, only to do what is reasonable to make their services accessible for disabled people. The cost of any adjustments and the financial resources available to the sen/ice provider are taken into account in determining what is reasonable in each individual case.

Employers Liability Insurance

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department's review of Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance will be concluded.

Nick Brown: We are in the process of assessing the responses to the consultation, undertaken as part of the review of Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance. I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I gave on 12 December 2002, Official Report, columns 2324W, which said that the review will report to Ministers in the spring.

European Working Groups

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on progress with achieving transparency in respect of the European working groups for which his Department is responsible.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have long been committed to greater openness in the EU Institutions. This was a key theme of the UK Presidencies in 1992 and 1998. Making it easier to gain access to non-sensitive documents is crucial to this. The Government welcome Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. As a result, more documents are released to the public, while genuinely sensitive documents are given the protection they need.
	Much of the Council's work takes place in preparatory bodies, including working groups. The interests of the Department for Work and Pensions are represented in the Social Questions Working Party of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council.
	Accountability and transparency of Council business to Parliament are ensured by the scrutiny process, to which the Government are also firmly committed.
	We strongly supported the measures agreed at the Seville European Council to make the Council more open when in legislating mode. We remain committed to increasing transparency. The Future of Europe Convention is also looking at ways to make the EU more open.

Fraud

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 20 March 2003, Official Report, column 931W, on the targeting fraud campaign, if he will provide comparable information on the cost of the targeting fraud campaign in each year since 1997 prior to September 2001; and what costs have accrued since March 2002.

Malcolm Wicks: There was no expenditure on the targeting fraud campaign prior to 1999. Between 1997 and 1999 the Department undertook press and radio advertising to promote the National Benefit Fraud Hotline.
	The only costs accrued from April 1999 to March 2000 were for research in preparation for the targeting fraud campaign which began in May 2000. This came to a total of 234,020. Costs accrued from April 2000 to March 2001
	
		
			   
		
		
			  
			 TV advertising 3,208,520 
			 Press advertising 841,020 
			 Radio advertising 588,701 
			 Poster advertising 226,890 
			 Production 186,482 
			 Research (evaluation) 170,190 
			 Total 5,221,803 
		
	
	Costs accrued from April 2001 to March 2002
	
		
			   
		
		
			  
			  
			 TV advertising 5,061,680 
			 Press advertising 1,119,651 
			 Radio advertising 852,516 
			 Poster advertising 1,006,781 
			 Production 517,379 
			 Research (evaluation) 257,150 
			 Total 8,833,157 
		
	
	Costs accrued from April 2002 to March 2003
	The majority of the costs in this period are preparatory and production work for the next phase of the targeting benefit fraud campaign which is due to start in the summer of 2003.
	
		
			   
		
		
			  
			  
			 TV advertising 0 
			 Press advertising 0 
			 Radio advertising 34,315.42 
			 Poster advertising 0 
			 Production 594,249.19 
			 Research (Evaluation) 140,436.25 
			 Total 769,000.86

Home Responsibilities Protection

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether women who had opted to pay reduced rate national insurance contributions and who left paid employment for more than two years because of childcare responsibilities had to make a claim for home responsibilities protection.

Maria Eagle: Women receiving child benefit for a child under 16 whose reduced rate election had lapsed because they had not been in paid employment for two full tax years would be awarded Home Responsibilities Protection automatically from the following tax year.

Incapacity Benefit

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement about the eligibility of sufferers of ME for incapacity benefit.

Nick Brown: Incapacity benefit provides a source of income for sick and disabled people of working age. Eligibility is not dependent on any specific diagnosis or condition but on the effects of a condition on a persons ability to carry out day-to-day work-related activities, as determined by the Personal Capability Assessment.

Intermediate Labour Markets

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the (a) value of and (b) potential for the development of intermediate labour markets.

Nick Brown: Intermediate Labour Markets work with disadvantaged people and seek to provide a supportive work environment, helping them to develop the skills needed to retain employment over time. They are widely used in the UK, including some funded by New Deal providers and Local Authorities.
	The Department has commissioned research to assess the effectiveness of intermediate labour markets. Findings from this project are scheduled for publication later this year.
	In addition, we are investing 40 million in StepUP, a transitional work programme that will provide a guaranteed job for up to 5,000 long-term unemployed people. Publication of the final report on StepUP is scheduled for April 2005.

Jobcentre Plus

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when Jobcentre Plus will be extended to cover the whole of England.

Nick Brown: The roll-out of Jobcentre Plus is progressing well and we currently have 230 offices delivering the new service. We aim to cover the whole of the country over the next three years, including my hon. Friend's constituency in 200506.
	In the intervening period, however, we will continue to develop our services. For example, in my hon. Friend's constituency, we now have staff with benefits experience working in Jobcentres and vice versa. This is helping Jobcentres to provide a more integrated service.

Jobcentre Plus

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is regarding (a) access to JobCentre Plus offices and (b) meetings with JobCentre Plus staff for members of the public who have contracted hepatitis A, B, C, or D; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: The health and safety of both staff and customers is of paramount importance. Therefore it is vital that staff know how to deal with customers in a way that does not endanger their own health and safety or that of other people in the office.
	The main source of health and safety advice is the departmental website, which can be accessed by all members of staff. This contains comprehensive guidance on all aspects of DWP health and safety policy. The Health and Safety Division is currently developing a new comprehensive programme of health and safety training and awareness for Jobcentre Plus. In the interim, staff receive a variety of training including a HS induction course for staff working on Trillium sites, training in how to prevent and calm difficult or aggressive situations for staff with face-to-face contact with customers, and a number of health and safety leaflets and videos which are used to prompt and reinforce safe working practices.
	The hepatitis virus is spread by contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, or by cross blood infection. Therefore in principle, staff working in a DWP business are at low risk of contracting the hepatitis virus through dealing with customers.
	The first contact with a customer is normally by telephone. If during the course of the conversation, the staff member becomes aware that the customer has an infectious disease, the computer record is noted to alert staff who subsequently deal with the customer. Customers with the hepatitis virus do however have full access to all the services provided by Jobcentre Plus but, wherever possible, those customers would be dealt with by telephone or post.
	Most of the time, staff will be unaware of when a customer has the hepatitis virus. They are therefore encouraged to safeguard their own health at all times by considering their own basic hygiene, and not taking any risks if a customer is bleeding. All blood spillages must be treated as infected regardless of the source. Detailed advice and guidance on how to maintain basic hygiene when dealing with discarded needles/syringes or blood spills is available on the Jobcentre Plus health and safety website.
	As with all our records, information held by Jobcentre Plus on a customer's health is protected by the Data Protection Act. As such this information is not given to any other organisation or person, including members of the customers family, without the express permission of the customer.

Jobcentre Plus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of Hendon are JobCentre Plus clients; how many such clients are on each of the New Deal programmes; how many residents of Hendon received services from Burnt Oak Job Centre before its closure; and how many received services from Hendon JobCentre Plus office.

Nick Brown: holding answer 9 April 2003
	At the end of August 2002 there were 9,500 JobCentre Plus clients resident in Hendon constituency. 1  5
	1 Source: Client Group Analyses of DWP Information Centre 5 per cent. statistical samples.
	2 Number is based on a 5 per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	3 Number is rounded to the nearest hundred.
	4 JobCentre Plus clients are defined as working age recipients of one or more of income support (non minimum income guarantee claimants), jobseeker's allowance, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, invalid care allowance, widow's benefit or bereavement benefit.
	5 Parliamentary constituencies are allocated by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory, and represent constituency boundaries as at May 1997.
	The available information on New Deal participants in the Hendon parliamentary constituency area is in the table.
	
		New Deal Participants in the Hendon Parliamentary Constituency Area(86),(87),(90)
		
			 New Deal Programme Number of Participants 
		
		
			 New Deal for Young People(88) 210 
			 New Deal 25 plus(88) 210 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents(88) 180 
			 New Deal 50 plus(89) 40 
		
	
	(86) Source: New Deal Evaluation Database.
	(87) All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. This is in line with National Statistics guidelines and prevents possible disclosure of individuals.
	(88) As at end of December 2002.
	(89) As at end of February 2003.
	(90) Information is not available at constituency level for the other New Deal Programmes.
	Burnt Oak Jobcentre was an advice and information office, and as such, had no register of customers. However, we have been able to estimate that, on average, 255 customers a month used that office. It provided job search facilities to people from all over north-west London and, therefore, we are unable to identify how many residents of Hendon received services from Burnt Oak Jobcentre.
	Hendon Jobcentre is not scheduled to become a Jobcentre Plus office until it is rolled out along with the rest of north London District in 200506. The Jobcentre has a current register of 1,775 jobseeker's allowance customers. In addition, it is estimated that it sees around 100 non-jobseeker's allowance customers every week.

Joint Working Unit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the work of his Department's Joint Working Unit.

Malcolm Wicks: Joint Working Unit (JWU) was set up in April 2001 as a result of recommendations made following reports produced by Lord Grabiner into the informal economy and the Scampion report countering benefit fraud in the then Department of Social Security.
	The main focus of the JWU's work is to promote, encourage and facilitate joined-up working across central government departments and with local authorities and to act as formal stewards of the powers enacted by the Social Security Fraud Act 2001.
	Examples of joint activities with other government departments include the Joint Shadow Economy Teams, which are made up of members from this Department, Her Majesty's Customs  Excise and the Inland Revenue. The aim of the teams is to bring those working within the informal economy into the real tax paying economy and keep them there. The Joint Fashion Industry Teams focus on those working in the fashion industry, looking at businesses who are suspected to be potentially, collusive or non-compliant employers. Operation Gangmaster was initially set up to investigate the use of agricultural gangmasters and their methods of operating, and has now widened to include other labour providers who demonstrate non-compliant behaviour.
	Examples of joint activities with local authorities include Joint Regional Boards who work to develop region-specific counter-fraud strategies. The strategies are then implemented through Joint Operational Boards. JWU also acts as the Departmental contact for local authority groups such as the National Anti-fraud Network, the London Team Against Fraud and the Local Authority Investigation Officers Group. The JWU also supports the implementation of a joined-up intelligence-led investigative process for local authorities. It is currently working with Nottingham and Cardiff authorities by co-locating Intelligence Officers within the East Midlands and Wales Operational Intelligence Units.
	Together with the Departmental Professional Standards Unit, JWU supports local authorities, the National Anti-fraud Network and Operational Intelligence Units on all aspects of the Social Security Fraud Act 2001 and its associated powers. This function includes ensuring the Fraud Act powers are understood and implemented effectively, accurately, securely and efficiently. The Unit is also responsible for the management of the relationship with our external information providers, and the provision of advice and expert guidance to front-line staff in both the Department and local authorities.

New Deal

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage and what value of New Deal contracts are delivered by (a) Jobcentre Plus and (b) other organisations.

Nick Brown: Services to New Deal customers are delivered through Jobcentre Plus and organisations from the private and voluntary sectors.
	In 200102, total New Deal expenditure by the then Employment Service was approximately 672 million. Of this, expenditure on New Deal contracts with the private and not for profit sectors amounted to 311 million, approximately 46 per cent. of the total. The remainder of the expenditure was on services delivered by the then Employment Service (216 million) and on allowances paid to New Deal customers (145 million).

New Deal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Buckingham constituency are on the New Deal Programme, broken down by each category of the New Deal.

Nick Brown: Numbers participating on each category of the New Deal Programme in Buckingham are provided in the table.
	
		New Deal Programme in Buckingham
		
			 Programme Number of participants at end December 2002(91) 
		
		
			 New Deal for Young People 10 
			 New Deal 25 plus 10 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents 10 
			 New Deal 50+(92) (93)10 
		
	
	(91) All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. This is in line with National Statistics
	guidelines and prevents possible disclosure of individuals.
	(92) Up to end of February 2003.
	(93) Currently in receipt of Employment Credit.
	Note:
	Information on people currently participating on other New Deal programmes is
	not available.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database

New Deal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people on the New Deal for Young People in the Buckingham constituency in 200102 have joined (a) subsidised employment, (b) the Environmental Task Force, (c) the voluntary sector and (d) the full-time education or training option.

Nick Brown: Numbers starting individual options for the New Deal for Young People programme in the Buckingham constituency are too small to provide for any individual year, including 200102.
	Numbers joining each option in the Buckingham constituency since the programme began in April 1998 are provided in the table.
	
		New Deal for Young People in Buckingham
		
			 Option Numbers started since April 1998(94) 
		
		
			 Employment Option 10 
			 Education or Training Option 10 
			 Environmental Task Force Option 10 
			 Voluntary Sector Option 10 
		
	
	(94) All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. This is in line with National Statistics guidelines and prevents possible disclosure of individuals.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database

New Deal

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons it is not possible for a client registered with the New Deal for Disabled People to undertake a gateway interview retrospectively to access funds for a suitable training course.

Nick Brown: New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) aims to support customers in receipt of incapacity benefits to take up, or return to, paid employment if they wish to do so. The purpose of the NDDP gateway interview is to introduce customers to NDDP and inform them of Job Broker services.
	Customers participating in NDDP can access Jobcentre Plus programmes, including Work Based Learning for Adults (WBLA), without the need to attend an additional gateway interview, provided they meet the individual programme eligibility criteria. Where a Job Broker agrees with a customer that WBLA is appropriate, they will contact Jobcentre Plus to arrange this.

New Deal

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the guidelines are for implementation of the (a) employer option, (b) Environmental Task Force Option and (c) Voluntary Sector Option of the New Deal for Young People;
	(2)  what guidance his Department issues to employers on the application of the national minimum wage to participants in the (a) employer option, (b) environmental task force option and (c) voluntary sector option of the New Deal for Young People.

Nick Brown: holding answer 8 April 2003
	New Deal providers are issued with detailed guidance to support their delivery of the New Deal programme, which includes information on the national minimum wage.
	Many participants on the New Deal for Young People Environment Task Force and Voluntary Options do not receive a wage and are thus not covered by the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. These participants are paid a New Deal allowance equivalent to their jobseeker's allowance, plus a grant of 400 paid over the 26 weeks of the programme.
	Employers participating in the Employment Option and providers participating in the waged Environment Task Force or Voluntary Option enter into a contractual agreement with Jobcentre Plus. The agreement includes a requirement to comply with the requirements of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.

Older People (Health Care)

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Department of Health to place older person's health services into older people's homes.

Maria Eagle: None. This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health in relation to the provision of health services in England, and in Scotland my right hon. Friend the Minister for Health and Community Care in the Scottish Executive. We have not received any representations on this issue.

Parental Leave

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in his Department have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive since it came into force.

Maria Eagle: A total of 342 staff have taken advantage of their Parental leave entitlement since it came into force.
	Data source
	FAMIS and REBUS records

Pension Credit

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners will be entitled to the pension credit.

Maria Eagle: Around half of pensioners will be entitled to Pension Credit when it is introduced in October.
	We estimate that by October 2003 around 1.8 million Minimum Income Guarantee claims will be automatically transferred to Pension Credit. Between October 2003 and October 2004 we expect to take on a further million additional successful applications for Pension Credit.
	Pension Credit will for the first time reward, not penalise savings ensuring that those who have worked hard to save modest amounts will gain from having done so. Those eligible for Pension Credit stand to gain on average 400 a year. The capital limit will be abolished and most pensioners will see their award fixed for five years.

Pension Credit

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of the pension credit on the poorest pensioners.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the Member for Leigh on 17 March, Official Report, column 597W.

Pension Credit

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what methods are used to ensure that pensioners eligible for the pension credits are able to receive them.

Maria Eagle: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, wrote to all MPs on 17 March 2003, outlining how the Department is planning to ensure Pension Credit take-on is completed successfully. To support the take-on of Pension Credit a marketing campaign has been developed for pensioners and those who support them such as family and friends.
	The core of the campaign involves contacting pensioner households by direct mail and inviting them to make their applications by telephone. In this way we can support and complete the application form for them. The Pension Service has now started to send the invitations, building up the numbers progressively and plans to complete this activity in June 2004. This systematic approach will be supported by regional and national advertising around the launch of Pension Credit in October when it becomes payable.
	By working with local partners The Pension Service will be able to help vulnerable pensioners or those who need to overcome barriers that might prevent them from applying.
	To ensure pensioners do not lose out, a 12 month backdating provision will exist until October 2004. This will allow applications to be backdated to October 2003 where entitlement exists.

Post Office Card Account

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to ensure that disabled customers who are unable to use the PIN pads for Post Office card accounts are informed that they can delay changing their payment method until an accessible alternative is in place.

Malcolm Wicks: Access to Post Office branches, the Post Office card account and PIN pads are the responsibility of Post Office Ltd. We are aware that groups representing disabled and blind/partially sighted customers have raised concerns about the PIN pads that have been installed in Post Offices. The Post Office have acknowledged that they need to make the PIN pad more accessible and user friendly. They have invited the RNIB and other disability groups to work with them.
	There is no question of people not getting their money. Customers will be given all of the options available to them and it will be up to them to choose the account most suitable for them, in these circumstances customers may find that banks or building societies have accounts that suit their needs more effectively. The Department is committed to ensure that all people have access to their money via an account including the Post Office card account they can continue, for a while, to receive their benefits or pension by order book. These methods of payment will eventually be phased out. We have always recognised that there will be a small number of people who we cannot pay directly into an account. We will develop an alternative method to pay this group. Payment outlets for this alternative method will include Post Office branches.
	Until the customer actually receives the mailing and contacts the number on the letter we cannot identify individuals' particular needs and circumstances.

Property Portfolio

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated value is of the property portfolio held by his Department.

Maria Eagle: The latest valuation of freehold and long leasehold properties held by this Department took place in June 2000 and showed a total value of 139,546,000. This covers approximately 370 buildings out of a total of around 1,800 that we occupy.

Regions White Paper

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made by his Department towards the aim in the White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, of encouraging applicants to public bodies from all parts of England; and what change there has been in the geographical diversity of appointees to NDPBs and other public bodies sponsored by his Department since the publication of the White Paper.

Maria Eagle: The Department sponsors 13 non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) all of which have a national remit. Public appointment vacancies are advertised widely in the national and ethnic press, specialist publications, and various websites including the new public appointments website launched last month. The Department was also involved in the regional seminars for women, organised by the Women and Equality Unit and held during 2002, which were aimed at increasing awareness of public appointments.
	All public appointments are made on merit in line with the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice. For this Department, between 14 May 2002 and 31 March 2003, 19 new appointments were made to NDPBs. Those appointed live in all of the Government Regions of England except the North-East and the West Midlands, as well as in Scotland and Wales.

Residential Training Schemes

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to change his Department's policy whereby a young person taking part in a residential training scheme loses his or her benefit entitlement for that period.

Nick Brown: Residential training is available to unemployed people with health problems and disabilities as part of the Work Based Learning for Adults programme. It is intended to help individuals gain skills in a supported environment, where they are unable to access suitable local provision.
	People undertaking residential training are entitled to receive Jobcentre Plus allowance payments. The payments are equal to the rate of benefit that participants were entitled to immediately prior to commencing the training, with an additional 10 premium paid to support the cost of attendance.
	For those in receipt of income support or income-based jobseekers allowance prior to receiving Jobcentre Plus allowance payments, an adjustment is made to ensure that entitlement to passported benefits such as housing benefit and council tax benefit are preserved. In addition, for those in receipt of incapacity benefit, special linking rules apply which protect their underlying rate of benefit for up to two years.
	These arrangements ensure that people do not lose out financially through undertaking training. We have no plans to change these arrangements at present.

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many civil servants have been seconded from his Department to (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, broken down by (i) grade of civil servants seconded, (ii) location and (iii) dates of secondments, in each year since 199798.

Maria Eagle: Secondments are part of the Interchange initiative which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the civil service and other organisations. All sectors of the economy are involved: Voluntary, Education, Health, Public and Private. Interchange is a key component of the reform agenda. The Modernising Government White Paper committed us to increasing interchange, in particular by bringing in more people on secondment and sending more of our people out.
	The information that we have available is as follows.
	
		Secondments that began between April 1997 and March 1998
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 By grade  
			 SCS 1 
			 6, 7, SEO 13 
			 HEO/EO 18 
			 AO/AA 25 
			 Total commenced between April 1997 and March 1998 57 
			 Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed between April 1997 and March 1998 
			 (a) Private Sector 7 
			 (b) NGOs 9 
			 (c) Other 72 
		
	
	
		Secondments that began between April 1998 and March 1999
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 By grade  
			 SCS 0 
			 6, 7, SEO 9 
			 HEO/EO 56 
			 AO/AA 20 
			 Total commenced between April 1998 and March 1999 85 
			 Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed April 1998 to March 1999 
			 (a) Private Sector 11 
			 (b) NGOs 14 
			 (c) Other 111 
		
	
	
		Secondments that commenced between April 1999 to March 2000
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 By grade  
			 SCS 1 
			 6, 7, SEO 13 
			 HEO/EO 72 
			 AO/AA 87 
			 Total commenced between April 1999 and March 2000 173 
			 Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed between April 1999 and March 2000 
			 (a) Private Sector 101 
			 (b) NGOs 73 
			 (c) Other 91 
		
	
	
		Secondments that commenced between April 2000 to March 2001
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 By grade  
			 SCS 2 
			 6, 7 8 
			 SEO/HEO 28 
			 EO 166 
			 AO/AA 106 
			 Other 2 
			 Total commenced between April 2000 and March 2001 312 
			 Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed April 2000 and March 2001 
			 (a) Private Sector 127 
			 (b) NGOs 47 
			 (c) Other 470 
		
	
	
		Secondments that commenced between April 2001 and March 2002
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 By grade  
			 SCS 0 
			 6, 7 2 
			 SEO/HEO 17 
			 EO 119 
			 AO/AA 84 
			 Other 1 
			 Total commenced between April 2001 and March 2002 223 
			 Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed between April 2001 and March 2002 
			 (a) Private Sector 312 
			 (b) NGOs 8 
			 (c) Other 212 
		
	
	Note:
	The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001. Information for earlier years are for the former Department of Social Security and the Employment Service.

Websites

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the (a) cost of and (b) number of visitors to each website operated by his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible in each year since its establishment.

Nick Brown: The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. For such information as is available, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 7 November 2002, Official Report, columns 29394W, and the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 597.